Apparitions

Think wasp.
Think a tiny 2-mm non-stinging version called Wool Sower Wasp, Callirhytis seminator.
The Wool Sower story goes like this. In mid-winter the female deposits eggs on the White Oak tree, Quercus alba - and only the white oak. Come Spring, eggs hatch, tiny grubs secrete an enzyme which signals the oak to produce this 1 inch 'gall', a cotton ball designed for their protection and nourishment. Young wasps soon hatch. This seriously strange process repeats, attaining legendary status over the decades among nature savants, and especially the casually curious.




© 140426-007 Wool Sower Gall
  Stone Mountain Park
  Saturday 26 April 2014
  .