Barnacle Gall

Barnacle Gall - Andricus sieboldi

Description

The cynipid gall wasp causes galls to form on Oak.  The agamic generation galls are usually found low on the main trunk of a smallish tree or sapling, or else on branches near the ground. They are conical and ridged, initially purplish and fleshy, later brown and hard.  

The sexual generation galls affect the buds, but have not been found in Britain. 

 

Similar Species

Andricus quercuscorticis forms agamic galls on the truck of oaks; they are whitish and ovoid, and the empty sockets persist

Identification difficulty

Agamic gall Adult

Habitat

oak trees (usually saplings)

When to see it

The galls persist for some time after the emergence of the wasps.

UK Status

Locally common (Redfern & Shirley, 2023)

VC55 Status

rare/rarely recorded

Further Information

Taxonomy is confusing. The species was formerly known as Andricus testaceipes, but this is now considered to be a different species known from the sexual galls found in leaf midribs/petioles; the asexual form of A testaceipes may be the same as the rare A rhyzomae.   See British Plant Galls, Redfern & Shirley 2023 for more information

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020

UK Map

Additional images

No additional images available for this species.

All NatureSpot records