Gall Wasps

Gall wasps (Cynipidae), inject their eggs inside the flowers of an oak tree, and instead of turning into an acorn, the larva creates chemicals that gentically changes the acorn into a completely different thing...A gall. The larva eats the oak's tissues inside the gall. The gall also serves as a protection of the larva throughout the winter. When spring arrives, the adult gall wasp emerges. Spending about 9 months of her life inside the gall, it only has a few weeks left. It must find some acorn flowers to lay her eggs. Reproduction is parthenogenesis (Meaning a female can reproduce by itself. Males are unnecessary). Find out more about these amazing creepy-crawlies on this video. This video is from BBC's Life in the Undergrowth by David Attenborough. Life in the Undergrowth belongs to BBC. If you want to watch the whole series, you can buy the original DVD or watch it on selected TV channels.