Sooty-mold-association
Guides
Disholcaspis quercusmamma
oak rough bulletgall wasp
Disholcaspis quercusmamma, the oak rough bulletgall wasp, is a cynipid gall wasp that induces distinctive bullet-shaped galls on twigs of white oaks. The species exhibits an alternation of generations with sexual and asexual phases, each producing morphologically different galls. The fall bullet galls are large, conspicuous structures with a velvety surface and pointed apex, while spring galls are small and inconspicuous on leaf buds. This wasp possesses notably enlarged venom glands, with the venom reservoir occupying approximately one-third of abdominal volume, implicating venom compounds in gall induction.
Grylloprociphilus
woolly beech aphid, boogie-woogie aphid, beech blight aphid
Grylloprociphilus is a genus of woolly aphids in the family Aphididae, established by Smith & Pepper in 1968. The genus contains at least one described species, G. imbricator, commonly known as the woolly beech aphid or boogie-woogie aphid. These aphids are notable for producing dense white waxy secretions that cloak host tree branches, and for their distinctive defensive behavior of synchronized posterior swaying when disturbed. The genus exhibits heteroecious holocyclic life cycles with host alternation between primary and secondary hosts.