Oak Marble Gall

Just a short few years ago my stepson who is now 16 got it into his head to plant a couple of acorns in pots. Wonder of wonders they sprouted and grew. Grew so well indeed that we had to plant them outside in the garden where they are now about 1.5 metres tall. Inspecting them the other day I noticed that the smaller one of the two has been "colonised" by wasps which have laid their eggs on the leaves. These have now reached the larval stage and will soon begin to consume the gall which the tree has thrown up around them. There are a couple of different parasitic wasps which do this on oaks and this particular one has produced the smaller growth known as the "marble" gall.

Strange to think that in a hundred years, when each and every one of us is long dead and gone, these trees will be mere teenagers with the better part of their lives still in front of them. There now, think upon that as you sip your cocoa before bedtime tonight.