Cat's Ear, Hypochaeris radicata, galled by the gall wasp Aulax hypochaeridis. The picture shows two flowering stems of a plant in early summer, both o

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Cat's Ear, Hypochaeris radicata, galled by the gall wasp Aulax hypochaeridis. The picture shows two flowering stems of a plant in early summer, both of which have been parasitised by A. hypochaeridis. A normal stem is straight, smooth and round; the galled stems are wrinkled, and in the centre of the picture, bent and flattened. The height of the picture frame wasps are small insects that lay their eggs inside plant tissues. Galls are caused by a disturbance in the plant's normal development due to the presence of the larvae feeding within the tissue. A large gall of A. hypochaeridis (as here, central) may contain up to 50 larvae. They feed throughout the summer, pupate within the gall, and emerge in Spring. Cat's ear is a global weed of pastures and waste places, but is more nutritious than grass and preferentially eaten by sheep in dry regions such as parts of Australia

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Size: 3468px × 5212px
Photo credit: © DR JEREMY BURGESS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: aulax, cats, ear, gall, hyopchaeridis, hypochaeris, insect, larva, nutritious, parasite, pupa, radicata, wasp, weed