(Diplolepis bicolor)
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Biology • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status |
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IUCN Red List | not listed |
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NatureServe | not listed |
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Minnesota | not listed |
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Description |
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Spiny rose gall wasp is a relatively tiny cypnid wasp that creates a relatively large gall. It occurs in only North America: in the east from Ontario to North Carolina west to Minnesota and Missouri; and in the west from British Columbia and Alberta south to California. It is also found in Nova Scotia but not in Newfoundland. The adult is very small and inconspicuous. The body is short, ⅛″ to ¼″ (3 to 6 mm) long, and somewhat globe-shaped. It is difficult to see and virtually impossible to identify in the field. However, it is easily identified by the abnormal plant growth (gall) it produces. In the spring a gall appears on a leaflet of a prairie rose or Wood’s rose. It is fully formed and succulent by the end of June and turns brown in July. It has a single chamber with one larva. It has thick walls and is covered with spines. The spines are long, up to as long as the gall is wide. Mature galls are ¼″ to 7⁄16″ (7 to 11 mm) in diameter. A large gall will completely obliterate the leaflet. |
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Size |
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Total length: ⅛″ to ¼″ (3 to 6 mm) |
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Similar Species |
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Spiny rose stem gall wasp (Diplolepis spinosa) galls are produced on host plant stems, not leaves. The galls are much larger and the spines are much shorter. |
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Habitat |
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Biology |
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Season |
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Late May |
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Behavior |
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Life Cycle |
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The larva spends the summer, pupates, and overwinters inside the gall. In late May the following year the adult chews a hold in the gall and emerges. The adult stage lasts only 5 to 12 days. |
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Larva Hosts |
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Prairie rose and Wood’s rose |
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Adult Food |
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Distribution |
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Sources |
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6/29/2023 | ||||
Occurrence |
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Widely scattered |
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Taxonomy |
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Order |
Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies) | ||
Suborder |
Apocrita (narrow-waisted wasps, ants, and bees) | ||
Infraorder | Proctotrupomorpha | ||
Superfamily |
Cynipoidea (gall wasps and allies) | ||
Family |
Cynipidae (gall wasps) | ||
Subfamily |
Cynipinae | ||
Tribe | Diplolepidini (rose gall wasps) | ||
Genus |
Diplolepis | ||
Synonyms |
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Cynips bicolor |
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Common Names |
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spiny rose gall wasp |
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Glossary
Gall
An abnormal growth on a plant produced in response to an insect larva, mite, bacteria, or fungus.
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Twogalls |
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Found these 2 galls on a John Cabot climbing rose we planted 3 years ago. We've never seen them before. | ![]() |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
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Created: 7/18/2020
Last Updated: