What is the a speckled ping pong ball that is found on the bottom of the Oregon White Oak leaf ?
It is a Gall.
Who lives inside of this Gall ?
Larval Cynipidae wasps are ‘incubating” inside of the gall. The adult Speckled Gall Wasp (Besbicus mirabilis) lays its eggs on the bottom to
This is the “ping pong gall” of a Speckled Gall Wasp (Besbicus mirabilis) in the family Cynipidae of the order Hymenoptera on a lobed leaf of Oregon White Oak (Quercus garryana)
How does it work?
In the spring the Oregon White Oak (Quercus garryana) begins to leaf out. An adult Speckled Gall Wasp (Besbicus mirabilis) lays an egg on the bottom or the Oak’s growing leaf. This egg releases a chemical into the leaf which causes the tree to react. The tree releases a growth hormone instructing the leaf to grow a scab (a gall) around the around the egg. This gall protects the wasp larvae from birds or weather. When the larvae wasp is ready it eats out the inside of the gall for food.
Action: What can you do when you find an Oak gall ?
Look at the gall: If you find one tiny hole in the otherwise intact gall, it means that the wasp has eaten its way out of the gall and hatched.
BIOMIMICRY IDEAS: Protecting something till it is ready to emerge:
Here is our idea: ( Put a drawing here or picture of your models and explain how it works here )
Ideas already on the market:
This is a bike helmet that covers you like an Oak Gall the moment you crash. An air bag pops out of a pouch around your neck and covers your head as soon as you crash. It is only there when you need it, like the oak gall.
How this relates to the Oak gall:
The air bag stays inside a neck pouch until an accident occurs. The accident sends a message to the neck pouch to release the air bag This is like the wasp egg signaling the tree to make a gall / scab around the ” injured” leaf. The gall is like the air bag because they are both protecting something. The gall is protecting an injury that the tree thinks happened to its leaf. The air bag is protecting the bikers head.
For more information:
Here is a link for more information about the Oak/ galls and their ecology:
http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/about-us/
https://web.extension.illinois.edu/ccgms/downloads/42438.pdf
Sources :
Illustration by Amanda Excell, Staff https://thebottomline.as.ucsb.edu/2013/11/wswedish-duo-develop-invisible-bike-helmet.