Cynips quercusfolii

Cherry gall

About plant names...

Cherry galls are not plants or fruits. They are homes built by trees at the direction of a wasp, specifically by Cynips quercusfolii, a gall wasp. They are found on Quercus frain­etto, Q. macranthera, Q. petraea, Q. pubescens, Q. pyren­aica, Q. robur, and rarely, Q. cerris.

Plants: Cherry galls are created when a gall wasp larva secretes substances on some oak species, com­mand­eering the plant’s cellular machinery into building a “house.” The house acts as an incubation cham­ber, food source, and complete miniature habitat for the larva. How cool is that? Galls are ½-⅞" (1.5-2.5 cm) in diameter, yel­low-green with pink or bright red, sometimes smooth and shiny, some­times warty. The wasps themselves are less than ¼" (6.3 mm) long and black, and the larva occupies a tiny hollow in the middle of the gall.

Galls form from July to October, maturing in August.

Online References:

Bladmineerders.nl (great photos)

Www.naturespot.org.uk

BioLib.cz (wasp and gall photos)

Wikimedia Commons (photos)

Www.dreamstime.com (more photos)

References:

Redfern, Margaret, Plant Galls, Collins, 2011, p. 267, 334, 341-2, 474, 489-90

9/16/2017 · Wills Hole/Town Forest, Acton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 1¾ × 1½" (4.5 × 4.3 cm)

On sessile oak (Quercus petraea) · 7/31/2012 · Bemis Rd Conservation Area, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 3½ × 5" (9.2 × 13 cm) ID is uncertain

9/16/2017 · Wills Hole/Town Forest, Acton, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 1¾ × 1¾" (4.9 × 5 cm)

9/23/2007 · Near Mike & Ellen’s, Milford, Penn­syl­vania
≈ 2½ × 1¾" (7.1 × 4.7 cm)

Cynips quercusfolii description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 1 Jan 2021.

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On sessile oak (Quercus petraea) · 7/31/2012 · Bemis Rd Conservation Area, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 5 × 3½" (13 × 9.2 cm)

9/5/2009 · Willard Brook State Park, Orange Trail, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 3 × 2" (7.8 × 5.2 cm)

8/28/2017 · Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsboro State Forest, Lowell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 1¾ × 1¾" (4.8 × 4.7 cm)

On sessile oak (Quercus petraea) · 7/31/2012 · Bemis Rd Conservation Area, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 5 × 8" (13 × 19 cm)

On sessile oak (Quercus petraea) · 7/31/2012 · Bemis Rd Conservation Area, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 3½ × 2½" (9 × 6.8 cm)

9/23/2007 · Near Mike & Ellen’s, Milford, Penn­syl­vania
≈ 2 × 1½" (5.9 × 3.9 cm)