Gall wasp

A small wasp, usually in the family Cynipidae, whose larvae induce or inhabit abnormal growths called galls on plants.

Plant gall: An abnormal plant growth induced by an organism, often serving as food and shelter for its young. Gall-wasp larvae develop inside these growths, which their presence can induce.
Oak: A tree or shrub in the genus Quercus, widespread across the Northern Hemisphere. Many familiar gall wasps use oaks as hosts.
Oak apple gall: A large, rounded gall induced on oak by certain gall wasp larvae. It is a conspicuous example of an oak gall associated with cynipid wasps.
Parasitoid: An organism whose immature stage develops on or inside one host and ultimately kills it. Parasitoid insects attack gall-wasp larvae within their protected chambers.
Cynipid life cycle: The developmental cycle of gall wasps, often involving distinct sexual and asexual generations. Alternating generations can produce different galls on different plant parts.
Rose: A flowering plant in the genus Rosa, cultivated and native across temperate regions. Some gall wasps induce distinctive growths on rose stems.
Cynips quercusfolii: A European gall wasp that induces spherical galls on oak leaves. This species produces the familiar oak marble gall.
Inquiline: An organism that lives in another species' dwelling or habitat without necessarily killing its occupant. Inquiline insects occupy gall tissue and may compete with its original inducer.
Oviposition: The act by which an animal lays eggs. A female places eggs in plant tissue, initiating the interaction that can lead to a gall.
Insect larva: The immature stage of an insect that undergoes complete metamorphosis. The gall is primarily a developmental chamber for the wasp's larval stage.

Linked from 4 pages