Callirhytis punctatus Bass

April. Abrupt woody swelling. Quercus rubra, tinctoria [velutina], marylandica, nigra, coccinea, ilicifolia

Callirhytis punctata (O.S.)

Quercus cinereae [incana], coccinea, imbricaria, nigra, palustris, rubra, velutina
Stem galls, woody stem swellings
Oak Knot Gall. Abrupt, completely encircling branch, covered with normal bark. Immature galls cut like cheese.

[Photo caption]
On Q velutina. Also on Q palustris, rubra, imbricaria, cinerea, nigra. Twig beyond gall usually dies and this has been known to kill isolated trees. Adults emerged Apr. 16. The alternating generation is a small blister on main veins about May 12.

Cynips quercus punctata n. sp.

Quercus rubra

A smoothish, club-shaped, woody knot, four inches long, and an inch and a half in diameter at the upper and largest end, completely encircling a branch half an inch in diameter.

This gall was cut from a very young and thrifty oak, April 11th. The flies were then fully grown and began to appear in less than a week. No other galls were noticed at the time, but now (Oct.) there are several of this year's growth,--some larger and others much smaller than the one described. The new galls were fully grown the middle of June, but no larvae could be detected then. The larvae are now, however, well developed.

Callirhytis punctata (Bassett)

Galls were collected at Michigan City, Ind. ; Evanston, IL. ; Pop- lar Bluff, Mo. ; Texarkana, Ark. ; Mineola and Palestine, Tex. S. A. Rohwer collected galls at Ironton, Mo., in October, 1918, from which flies emerged April 16, 1919, The species transforms in the fall as adults have been cut out of galls in December and once as early as September 6. Brodie collected galls at Toronto.

Callirhytis punctata Bassett

Cynips quercus-punctata
Cynips quercus-podagrae
Cynips punctata
Andricus (Callirhytis) punctata
Andricus punctatus

An irregularly spherical, rough, woody gall, constricted at its union with the branch which it usually surrounds. Polythalamous. Color of the branch, but turning almost black with age. Varying greatly in size ; sometimes several are united and masses the size of the fist are formed which impair the appearance of the tree. On black oak, Quercus velutina, and red oak, Q. rubra. Common. Reported on scarlet oak, Q. coccinea.

Andricus punctatus Bass

Shape similar to the preceding gall, but without the horn-like protuberances. Sometimes found singly, but often a number may be seen, in greater or less proximity, on the same branch. On Quercus marilandica, coccinea, and rarely on nana [ilicifolia]. Common.

Andricus punctatus Bass.

Rough, hard, woody, gnarled scaly swellings on red oak limbs and twigs not over inches in diameter, occasionally occur in immense numbers.

This interesting gall insect is ordinarily rare in the vicinity of Albany, if we may base an opinion on the absence of earlier records. The writer’s attention was called by Dr H. M. Pollock, in April 1902, to a red oak at Loudenville near Albany, which was very badly infested with the galls of this species. It will be seen by reference to plate 48, figure 4, that these unnatural growths are irregular swellings along the smaller limbs, ranging in diameter from less than 0.5 to 1.5 inches, depending on the size of the twig. They are of variable length and frequently several coalesce to form an elongated mass of diseased tissue. The galls illustrated were inclosed in a box and produced over 500 insects, some of which were guest flies and a few were probably parasites. These galls were made the basis of an estimate and it was calculated that the entire tree bore 20,000 and produced over 500,000 insects. The general character of the infestation is well shown on plate 47.

This species was reared Ap. 11 by Mr Bassett, from a young, thrifty red oak growing in the vicinity of Waterbury Ct. Its local habit is confirmed by his finding galls only on the one tree. Professor Walsh also described what is probably this same species, under the specific name of podagrae, and he likewise refers to its local habits. Both gentlemen, as well as ourselves, reared large numbers of the insects without obtaining males.