Mapping the Gall wasps of Norway
Gall wasps are small parasitic wasps that lay eggs in leaves, stems, buds or flowers of herbs, wild roses and oak trees in Norway. More than half of the 50 species registered in Norway live on oak trees.
When the eggs hatch, chemicals are released to make plant tissue grow around the larvae in the form of a gall. The larvae feed on the plant tissue before it pupate and hatch into small adult wasps. Some gall wasps make their own galls, while other species are guest dwellers/inquilins and live in the "wall" of the gall. Some galls can be very cryptic and difficult to find, others are very distinctive and easy to classify. In this project we have so far found 11 species new to Norway, some on the basis of the characteristic gall many species have.
Project leader: Frode Ødegaard, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research
Project period: January 2012 – December 2014
Project collaborators: Naturhistoriska riksmusset (Sweden), Plant Protection and Soil Conservation at Directory of County Vas, The Swedish Species Information Centre, SLU