Gall wasps are out and about, so should you!
Hi everyone!
Remember how I accidentally reared a lot of wasps from fallen branches of valley oak, just about a year ago? https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/149423290
Apparently, this was a good way to rear adults out of otherwise-hard-to-find cryptic bud/twig galls, many of which are actually the missing generations of known species. So this year, with full intention, I’m currently repeating the same process and have already gotten many wasps (both cynipids and chaicids) by now: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?d1=2024-01-28&d2=2024-02-20&place_id=any&taxon_id=47201&term_id=1&term_value_id=2,22,24&user_id=norikonbu&verifiable=any
Also this time, thanks to the ongoing Cynipini Larval Sequencing Pilot Study (https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/megachile/83377-cynipini-and-associates-larval-sequencing-pilot-study) managed by @moneykittens in Forbes Lab at University of Iowa, I have peace of mind that all my specimens will be accepted and analyzed whether they are inducers, inquilines or parasitoids.
Just recently, Dr. James Nicholls, one of the leading cynipid experts and co-authors of many new described species, shared some exciting results from his team’s DNA analyses. He generously granted permission to share his preliminary results with others so that more of us could contribute to this ongoing research collectively.
Here’s an excerpt from his email:
“I am all for open science, especially when it involves the efforts of citizen scientists. Providing feedback about results and possible future routes of exploration, and sharing that with your network, is really important and helps get everyone enthusiastic with the knowledge that what they are finding is useful. The sort of network that Adam [Kranz] has been establishing is an invaluable resource – these days there just aren’t the resources available to universities or museums to undertake the sorts of expeditions that Kinsey used to do, with a large team of assistants and collecting millions of galls. A citizen science network linked in with professionals allows for answering all sorts of interesting questions… But these networks require interaction both ways, so I have no problems with you sharing what we’ve been discussing to get others involved or simply interested in what is around them in nature.”
Most of his report was about amazing discovery from other legendary Gallformers contributors such as @nfurlan and @calconey but also our regional luminaries like Ron Russo and Joyce Gross, so I’ll save those details for better occasions (also because it’s a lot more than I can digest all at once :D). But I’m proud to report that a few of my specimens from last year were included among them, so I’m happy to share these few California-specific results (including one collected by @leslie_flint) here.
• Neuroterus from a stem swelling (NO1; https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/154599224), provisionally identified as N. evolutus. DNA shows it to match Neuroterus fragilis, implying N. evolutus and N. fragilis are alternate generations of the same species. Ideally we’d like to rear, sequence and examine the morphology of more of this species in order to confirm this matching of generations.
• A male specimen reared from a cryptic bud gall on Q.douglasii in California (NO2A; https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/153764258). Cytochrome b and opsin sequences confirm this as the previously unknown sexual generation of Neuroterus quaili.
• A petiole swelling gall on Q. lobata in California (LF1; https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/155030500); a provisional identification as Neuroterus fragilis based on the gall is confirmed based on cytb data.
If you find this discovery interesting, I’d also like many of you to collect some fresh twigs from various oaks, put them in Ziploc bags and see what happens. Apparently it’s this time of the year for many wasps to emerge (right before new leaves come out), and since we’ve been having a series of rainstorms throughout CA, this is a golden opportunity to look for fresh downed branches (true “windfalls”) under oak trees, which may give us a rare glimpse into the diversity of oak canopies that we normally can’t get to. So far I collected a fair amount of Q. lobata twigs but don’t have much else, so if anyone wants to try this experiment with any other oaks, that would also be very cool.
The most important step before you get started is to prepare a few crucial supplies for preserving your specimens for future DNA analyses in mind. The last thing we want is to waste any precious lives and valuable data for science! Here are a few basic supplies you need, and feel free to contact me (either as comments below or DM) if you have any questions along the way:
• 95% (or higher) non-denatured ethanol (@cynestor gave me this info and this is a great place to buy a small amount without paying a lot of money: https://www.ebay.com/itm/225299332864)
• Small plastic tubes (0.5ml is plenty big because those wasps are tiny. You may not need this quantity but I’m sure you can find something similar: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BBV2GJW6/?th=1)
• A small eye dropper or syringe to fill tubes
• Tweezers to transfer insects to tubes
I also want to emphasize that everyone should always check regulations of local trails/parks and collect responsibly. I’d like to share this wonderful “The Insect Collectors’ Code” written by Dr. Carolyn Trietsch and Dr. Andrew Deans at Penn State: https://academic.oup.com/ae/article/64/3/156/5098337
I’ve been wishing to have an ethical guideline like this for a while, so was happy to learn about it during the WaspID Course 2024 I took in January. BTW, this online course (founded/directed by @louisnastasi, taught by @mileszhang and many other Hymenoptera experts around the world) was an awesome learning experience, just in time for documenting all sorts of tiny wasps emerging in my rearing bags! (Thanks @kimberlietx for your recommendation :))
Last but not least, thanks @megachile again for connecting citizen scientists/naturalists with the world’s best experts in such a mutually rewarding way! Those who are not in CA, he also keeps adding his own “wishlists” across the US so check back his journals and observations to see what’s new: https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/megachile
Thank you all for taking time to read!
Noriko
