Oak apple
An oak apple is a mutation of an oak leaf caused by chemicals injected by the larvae of certain kinds of gall wasp. They are so called because the gall, which can measure up to 5 cm in diameter but is normally only around 2 cm, looks a little like an apple.
European oak apples are caused by the Biorhiza pallida gall wasp and American oak apples by Amphibolips confluenta. [1]
Oak apples may be brownish or reddish.
The wasp larva that lives inside oak apples are a good source of bait for fishing, and also are useful as a survival food.[citation needed]
references
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary
See also
- Oak Apple Day
- Iron gall ink
- Oak marble gall
- Knopper gall
- Pineapple gall
- Rose bedeguar gall
- Oak artichoke gall
External links
- Amphibolips confluenta
- Biorhiza pallida
- Gloucestershire Naturalists' Society photograph of galls with 'red apple' appearance See also:[1]
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