Disholcaspis mellifica
(agamic)agamic:The agamic (AKA unisexual) generation of an oak gall wasp (cynipini) species consists of only female wasps, which do not mate before laying the eggs which become the male and females of the sexual generation (sexgen).
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The gall's range is computed from the range of all hosts that the gall occurs on. In some cases we have evidence that the gall does not occur across the full range of the hosts and we will remove these places from the range. For undescribed species we will show the expected range based on hosts plus where the galls have been observed.
Our ID Notes may contain important tips necessary for distinguishing this gall
from similar galls and/or important information about the taxonomic status of
this gall inducer.
Gall: Bursting out of cracks in the bark, usually in rows, like galls of Callirhytis excavata (Ashm.) but extending only one or two millimeters up above the flaps of bark. On current year's growth in fall, often on sprouts close to the ground. The top is flat, rugose, and secretes honeydew. Larval cell basal and occupying most of the interior, the only thick dense tissue being directly above. Single galls from above measure up to 3 by 5 mm., but those in a row are much distorted by mutual pressure.
Habitat: The types are from galls collected Sept. 8, 1922, above Cedar Creek checking station in Sequoia National Park, Calif. The galls then contained larvae and secreted so much honeydew that it dripped to the ground and in the sun was even evaporated to a white solid. Pupae were found in galls on October 1. Dead adults were cut out Mar. 17, 1923. This is the undescribed gall whose secretion has been described more fully by the author (Bull. Brooklyn Ent. Soc, vol. 20, p. 177, 1925).
