Probably the most obvious and well-known type is the “oak apple” gall, which displays small tan balls from one to two inches in diameter. They are found on the leaves of several oak species ...

Q.: I have six 90-foot tall oaks in my yard. As the leaves fell, I see that many are covered with tiny button-shaped things. It seems worse with the white oak rather than the red oak. Earlier in ...

More than 2,000 kinds of insect galls have been identified in North American plants, with 800 of these caused by gall wasps. The shape that a gall assumes depends upon the species of insect that ...

Your perfectly round ping-pong-sized galls were probably caused by a gall wasp or, as entomologists call them, the cynipid wasp. Most galls are small, but some can be as large as 2-inches in diameter.

Galls called “oak apples” may be golf ball-sized found on both leaves and stems, and will be green in spring, and will dry out and turn brown and papery as the wasp larva matures inside.

Oak galls are more a curiosity than a true pest, but they are attention-grabbing when first seen. Hundreds of different kinds of galls can form on oak buds, twigs, leaves or acorns, most caused by ...

Q: The oaks in our neighborhood have some type of gall or insect egg case under each leaf. It is about the size of a pencil eraser and is fuzzy tan. Should we be concerned? - B.S., Houston A: It ...

Our ancestors also found use for the galls for various purposes. One of the more fascinating bits of history is that oak galls were used for making iron gall ink. In “Oak: The Frame of Civilization,” ...

The two-horned oak gall wasp is just one of dozens of species of gall wasps that incubate their eggs in oak leaves. Skip to content. All Sections. Subscribe Now. 70°F. Sunday, June 8th 2025 ...

Once the gall egg is laid on a leaf, it takes three years to mature. Galls can kill the trees but it’s a slow death that could take years. “You’re not only seeing what damage you have this ...

Q. We have a pin oak tree that is approximately 30 feet tall. On the north-facing side of the tree there are many wilted leaves, and there are many balls of strange growth. Pictures of the leaves and ...

Q: What causes these growths on oak leaves? Are they anything to worry about? A: That is a gall – one of nature’s more fascinating phenomena. Galls develop when an insect, bacteria, fungus or ...