My Own Discovery
I was doing an event standby with Dusan ambulance in Dubois when I found what is pictured on the right. I was intrigued! It was under a tree and was the only one I could find. I knew it wasn't a seed after examining the inside so I began to document what I saw.
I went back to the station and began my research. After doing some comparisons and reading up on Oak trees I was able to figure it out!
What you see is an abnormal outgrowth of plant tissue (AKA a Gall) caused by a parasite. This gall is called an Oak Apple and is caused by a Gall Wasp. What happens is a gall wasp lays an egg in the stem of the leaf and then the tree has a reaction that causes the leaf to grow a tumor which encapsulates and nourishes the wasp egg. Within the center the egg grows into a larvae, and than into an adult gall wasp. The adult wasp eats its way out of the protective skin of the gall and the cycle begins again.
The feeling was wonderful and I learned something I will never forget. It was then I realized this is how learning should be.
-Fall 2015
I went back to the station and began my research. After doing some comparisons and reading up on Oak trees I was able to figure it out!
What you see is an abnormal outgrowth of plant tissue (AKA a Gall) caused by a parasite. This gall is called an Oak Apple and is caused by a Gall Wasp. What happens is a gall wasp lays an egg in the stem of the leaf and then the tree has a reaction that causes the leaf to grow a tumor which encapsulates and nourishes the wasp egg. Within the center the egg grows into a larvae, and than into an adult gall wasp. The adult wasp eats its way out of the protective skin of the gall and the cycle begins again.
The feeling was wonderful and I learned something I will never forget. It was then I realized this is how learning should be.
-Fall 2015