A Tribute to Gall Wasps, Sort of
Jay Davis
April 27, 2023
I can hardly walk in the woods these days without thinking of Charlie.
As a case in point, back in the Summer of 2020, in my early wanderings in my woods at Sope Creek, I came upon a strange spotted ball that seemed to be made of leaf essence:
I had no idea what it was.
I mentioned it to Charlie, sent him a photo, and within hours I had an answer: Oak Apple Gall Wasp. Inside this thing there is a wasp egg or wasp larvae. It grows and eats the inside of the gall, which has food for it, and eventually emerges… as a full-grown wasp? I don‘t know.
I have seen several more of these magical gems in the past three years. Every time I am elated.
Then, a few weeks ago, only a few days after Charlie died, I came upon this:
What on earth? I uploaded my photo to iNaturalist and got an identification: Wool Sower Gall Wasp.
I walked back and forth on the trail for several minutes, elated. Then I sat down on a log and sobbed. It‘s going to be awhile before I can react normally to these discoveries, whatever “normally” means.
Thank you my dear friend for sharing with me the thrill of learning and identifying things in the natural world.