Wool Sower Gall

Callirhytis seminator

Callirhytis seminator is a parasitoid wasp in the gall wasp family (Cynipidae) found in the eastern United States.
Wool Sower Gall - Callirhytis seminator These were the prettiest galls that I've ever seen! They were fluffy, white ball with pink spots and was about 4-5 cm across. One gall is actually a group of smaller, hairy galls that are joined at a common spot on a twig. They can be pulled apart to see seed-like structures that contain the developing wasps. I spotted 6 galls growing on Oak (Quercus sp.) - probably White Oak (Quercus alba). Callirhytis,Callirhytis seminator,Geotagged,Quercus,Spring,United States,Wool Sower Gall,cynipid wasp,gall,wasp gall,wood sower,wood sower gall

Appearance

Gall is distinctive: round and woolly, featuring many brown/pink spots. Adult is approximately 20 mm in length. One gall is actually a group of small hairy galls joined at a common spot on a twig. They can be pulled apart to see seed-like structures that contain the developing wasps.
Callirhytis seminator Wool Sower Gall Wasp Callirhytis seminator,Wool Sower Gall

Habitat

Wool Sower wasps make their galls on oaks (Quercus sp.), especially White Oak (Quercus alba) during late spring.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/viewSpecies.php?species=10347
https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef408
https://bugguide.net/node/view/180960
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderHymenoptera
FamilyCynipidae
GenusCallirhytis
SpeciesCallirhytis seminator
Photographed in
United States of America