Malic-acid

Guides

• Amphibolips nubilipennis

  translucent oak gall wasp

  Amphibolips nubilipennis is a gall wasp in the family Cynipidae that induces distinctive succulent galls on oak trees. The species exhibits a complex life cycle with alternating sexual and asexual generations, each producing different gall types. The translucent oak gall formed by the sexual generation accumulates exceptionally high concentrations of malic acid, creating extremely acidic tissue conditions. This species has been documented across eastern North America and serves as a model organism for studying gall chemistry and plant-insect interactions.

  gall-waspoak-gallCynipidaemalic-acidplant-insect-interactionchemical-defensealternating-generationseastern-North-AmericaQuercusacidic-gall