Summary
Tiny wasps trick oak trees into building bizarre little houses -- called galls -- for their young. Deep Look reveals how a wasp egg makes a plant grow a custom nursery around a growing larva.
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All ages
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Talk about it
A gall wasp lays an egg in a plant, and chemicals make the plant grow a swollen gall around it. The larva feeds and grows safely inside this living crib -- a sheltered stage in the wasp's life cycle.
- What is a gall, and who lives inside it?
- How does the wasp's young get a safe place to grow?
- Why is growing inside a gall helpful for a tiny larva?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: gall, larva, life cycle, shelter.
Try it: Draw a leaf with a round gall and a larva inside. Write how the gall keeps the young wasp safe while it grows.