Thursday, February 25, 2010

Chautauqua Hills Yummies

Derek and I hiked on the eastern shore of Toronto last winter and encountered all these strange, lovely galls growing on the underside of the blackjack oak tree leaves.







The Gall Wasps lay eggs on the oak leaves and secrete a chemical which causes the leaf to form a spherical shell around the larva, protecting it until it eventually matures and chews its way out.

More information here, at one of my all-time favorite websites: