Wednesday 30th July
I can’t quite get over the amount of oak galls I have come across recently, whether it be the silk button variety, marble, cherry or in today’s case - the artichoke gall aka hop gall due to its unusual, but recognisable appearance. Plant galls are abnormal growths produced by the plant in response to the presence of another organism such as fungi or invertebrates. Where the artichoke gall is concerned, a parthenogenetic gall wasp lays a single egg with their ovipositor in a leaf bud, which causes this reaction growth in the tree which in turn houses the wasps larva, which will hatch out in the autumn. Clever stuff, and no harm to the host whatsoever.
2026 is shaping up to be a great year for solitary wasps!
