Diario de juan_sphex

It's been quite a while since I've written an entry... sigh, too many exams. Nonetheless I haven't stopped my experiments! Unfortunately I don't always take notes or I'm too distracted to write on my iNat journal.

Gall 1: Andricus quercusramuli on Quercus faginea.
Date: April 17-28
Taste: Either the catkin or the chambers are slightly lemon-like, while the "wool" is tasteless. Doesn't change significantly through time (early galls have white and pink wool, as they get old they turn brown and become compacted).
Texture: Soft, it's pretty much a catkin. The wooly part is well, wooly and annoying.
Smell: None noticed
Notes: I would call this gall "convoluted" as it's hard to know what's part of the catkin and what is a vacated chamber (not too obvious on the galls I observed) while tasting it, not to mention that these two are hidden among the wool. Unrelated but I reared a few adults since there's not many photographs of the adult wasps on the internet. They seem to develop rather fast as they emerged about a week after I collected the galls, and didn't need much assistance other than keeping the container humid.

Gall 2: Stenacis triradiata on Salix sp.
Date: May 24
Taste: Comparable to lettuce or dandelion leaves... Or maybe it just tastes like willow stem.
Texture: Stem-like. Fleshier than the leaves.
Smell: Same as the plant itself.
Notes: Interesting gall, more of a "witches' broom". Reading about it seems like it isn't clear whether it is caused by mites or by a mycoplasma. Either way the gall seems very primitive- there's no chambers nor it is a "purse".

Gall 3: Oligotrophus panteli on Juniperus communis
Date: June 7
Taste: Like any leaf would taste, but slightly minty.
Texture: Almost woody, but still flexible and fleshy like regular leaves.
Smell: Same as the plant itself. Aromatic and pleasant.
Notes: See the entry for October 2023, it's pretty much the same as similar galls on J. communis.

Gall 4: Plagiotrochus quercusilicis on Quercus rotundifolia
Date: June 7
Taste: Has that same vague unripe redcurrant taste, only slightly more sour this time. Also felt some numbing on my tongue.
Texture: Berry-like. Harder than "unripe" (red) galls.
Smell: Also similar to berries. Barely noticeable.
Notes: Compared to red, mature galls, this one is not as interesting. By this time of the year I would have expected it to be red, so maybe this gall in particular never formed properly. Again, there doesn't seem to be a strong difference between Q. coccifera galls and Q. rotundifolia galls. But the latter could benefit from having more/stronger numbing chemicals, would be fun to read into it if I can find any info.