Disholcaspis quercusglobulus

Oak Rough Bulletgalls are produced under the direction of the tiny gall wasp. The “rough” in the common name refers to the roughened appearance created by tiny hairs covering the surface. The sturdy galls can be round like a musket ball or slightly elongated like a Minie ball, which accounts for the “bullet” part of their common name.

Rough Oak Bulletgalls induced by the gall-wasp, Disholcaspis quercusmamma (family Cynipidae) are splitting through the bark and rising on the stems of oaks in the white oak group in southwest Ohio. The galls are most commonly found on bur (Quercus macrocarpa), white oak (Q. alba), and swamp white oak (Q. bicolor).

Several stem galls on oaks (Quercus spp.) that are produced under the direction of gall wasps (family Cynipidae) are called “bulletgalls” owing to their bullet-like shapes. Two of the most common found in Ohio are Rough Oak Bulletgalls induced by the cynipid wasp, Disholcaspis quercusmamma, and Round Oak Bulletgalls induced by D. quercusglobulus.