Melikaiella flora, formerly Callirhytis milleri, the live oak petiole gall wasp, is a species of hymenopteran that produces leaf galls on coast live oak, interior live oak, and canyon live oak trees in California in North America.[1][2] The gall often subsumes the entire petiole and occasionally part of the leaf body.[1] Pregnant females of the second generation oviposit on acorns; these acorns are usually dropped by the tree and become food for squirrels, deer, Steller's jays, etc.[1]

Melikaiella flora
Morro Bay State Park, 2021
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Cynipidae
Genus: Melikaiella
Species:
M. flora
Binomial name
Melikaiella flora
(Weld, 1922)
Synonyms

Callirhytis milleri

References

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  1. ^ a b c Russo, Ronald A. (2021). Plant Galls of the Western United States. Princeton University Press. p. 96. doi:10.1515/9780691213408. ISBN 978-0-691-21340-8. LCCN 2020949502. S2CID 238148746.
  2. ^ "Live Oak Petiole Gall Wasp (Melikaiella flora)". iNaturalist. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
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