I wanted a relatively short walk between rain showers so headed to a small local green belt where Oak saplings were planted a few years ago, and my wander turned into a challenge to see how many different types of gall I could find in just this one small copse of young Oaks. The answer? Six!

First up, Knopper galls, caused by the wasp Andriscus quercuscalicis. For more on that gall, see my August 2017 post Oak galls: knoppers and artichokes.

Next, Marbles, which I covered in Oak galls: marbles and apples, August 2017.

Then, I found some Common spangles (below left), caused by the wasp Neuroterus quercusbaccarum. More on that mouthful in Oak galls: currants and spangles, August 2017.

You may have noticed my photo of Marble galls also had something else on the leaves. These were Smooth spangles (above right), a product of the wasp Neuroterus albipes.

I covered both Smooth spangles and this next gall, the Oyster, in the same blog: Oak galls: spangles and oysters, September 2017. The photo on the left above shows Oysters just beginning to form on the spine of the leaf; the one on the right shows two more developed examples, both on the same tree.

And, last but most certainly not least, as there were thousands of these on all the Oak trees I looked at, Silk button galls, caused by the wasp Neuroterus numismalis. I wrote about those in Oak galls: ram’s-horns and silk buttons, September 2017.

Not a bad haul for an hour turning over leaves and peering amongst branches. I didn’t find examples of all the Oak galls I’ve found before but I was very happy with this sampling.