Galls of  The Valley Oaks Trees
of the Kaweah River Delta Region
These are higher resolution images and may take longer to load
on your computer system. They are worth the wait.
brain coral gall
bullet gall
Hershey Kiss gall
jumping galls
jumping galls / Hershey Kiss gall for size comparison
oak apples (galls)
urchin galls
wooley bear gall
Click here to visit Wayne's World web site for
The Amazing Jumping Galls

All photos above were taken in July and August 2000 from leaves or trees of various Valley oaks in the Kaweah River Delta Region. 

Below are a few nice images of the Urchin Gall wasp.

Robert Withey, a trail guide at Kaweah Oaks Preserve and an amateur videographer, captured these images on video. These galls were collected in October, 1999 just as the wasps were to emerge from their purplish/pink homes. Within just a few minutes they were getting their first view of the outside world from inside a Discovery Scope plastic chamber. A class of local students observed this amazing act of nature up close and personal! Of course, the insects were released after everyone had a chance to see them. 

Thanks Robert for these wonderful images.
Keep up the good work.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Discovery Scope and chambers available through Edmund Scientifics
below are a few articles for further study

Encyclopedia Smithsonian: Insect and Mite Galls
Learning About Insect and Mite Galls

Colorado State University
Insect and Mite Galls

Texas A & M
Gall-Making Insects and Mites
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