Gall wasp

Ado 2 · Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2015 7:26 am Post subject: Gall wasp

I spotted this on a dog rose on a road in Leitim. From what I can gather from Google it's caused by a parasitic Gall Wasp. Never saw it before or at least I never noticed it before.

Greengage · Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2015 3:29 pm Post subject:

Diplolepis rosae gall wasp, Its fairly common, Gall wasps usually reproduce asexually; the females are about 4 mm/0.2 in long; parts of their abdomens and legs are yellow-red, while the rest of the body is black. Males of this species have been observed only rarely. The galls are a mass of reddish filaments within which are found a number of sealed chambers enclosing larvae. The larvae feed on the gall tissue.

Ado 2 · Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2015 4:55 pm Post subject:

Thank you so much ! I knew you would know

Greengage · Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2015 8:08 pm Post subject:

Naw I just knew where to look, Insect and invertebrates Ireland facebook some good people on there .

medieval knievel · Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2015 9:21 am Post subject:

i was in kilruddery at the weekend; under a few of the big old oaks they have there, the ground was utterly carpeted with galls. i wonder if a single acorn made it through unscathed...

Greengage · Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2015 10:45 am Post subject:

Did you get a pic as knop per gall would be rare enough

medieval knievel · Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2015 12:36 pm Post subject:

they did look like knopper galls, but i didn't get any photos, unfortunately.

Good guy · Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2015 9:50 pm Post subject:

Walking the dog in the woods yesterday, there wasn't a hazel nut, conked, a our or beech nut to be seen. Famine for some creatures, this year, unless they find alternatives.

Greengage · Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2015 6:37 am Post subject:

Beech usually have a mast year every seven years, I have seen more hazel nuts this year than other years, Lots of conkers about too enjoy them because we will probably not have any chestnuts in Irealnd in the next decade due to bleeding Canker, I hear on the rumour mill that all the Chestnut tres on Chestefield Avenue phoenix park are to be removed due to bleeding canker and replaced with London Plane, these will cause problems in Autumn Big leaves and do not break down easily, possible cause of bike and traffic accidents in future. There will possibly a bit of public disquiet about their removal in time.

medieval knievel · Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2015 7:39 am Post subject:

they've been removing trees on the main avenue for several years now (well, based on what i saw a few years ago); interestingly, i saw dead standing trees over the summer a couple of years back; usually dead standing would not be allowed due to the popularity of the paths there, but someone suggested to me that given the way the canker works, throwing spores in the air with a chainsaw was not a good idea.