Andricus kollari
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
Andricus kollari, also known as the marble gall wasp, is a species of wasp which causes the formation of marble galls on oak trees. Synonyms for the species include Cynips kollari, Andricus quercusgemmae, A. minor, A. indigenus and A. circulans.
Adult Andricus kollari are dark brown, and about 1.5–2.0 millimetres (0.059–0.079 in) in length. It has alternating sexual and asexual generations, each often taking two years to complete. Like all gall wasps, it causes the formation of parasitic galls on trees in which it lays its larvae.
In May or June, a sexual female lays her eggs in the developing buds of susceptible oak trees using her ovipositor. Chemicals produced by both the adult and developing wasps cause the formation of a gall. Pedunculate oak (Quercus robur), sessile oak (Q. petraea) and the hybrid Quercus × rosacea can all be parasitized. The host trees are often immature or retarded specimens; galls are rarer on older, healthier trees. The Turkey oak (Q. cerris), introduced into Britain in 1735, is required for the completion of the wasp's life cycle. The oak marble gall is frequently conflated with the oak apple gall, caused by another gall wasp, Biorhiza... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Dublin | 🇮🇪 Ireland | |
| 6 | Amsterdam | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 7 | Rotterdam [The Hague] | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 8 | Paris | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 9 | Prague | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 10 | Munich | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report an Oak Marble Gall Wasp sighting in Liverpool on a given day, based on 185 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 49th most-seen of the 632 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and October
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report an Oak Marble Gall Wasp in Liverpool on a given day, against about 10% in May, the lowest month.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Oak Marble Gall Wasp sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 16 cities where we can rate Oak Marble Gall Wasp sightings, Liverpool has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come London (United Kingdom, about 20%) and Birmingham (United Kingdom, about 20%).
Same genus: Andricus
The closest relatives of the Oak Marble Gall Wasp that you can see in Liverpool (genus Andricus) are Cola Nut Gall Wasp (about 20%), Knopper Gall Wasp (about 20%) and Oak Artichoke Gall Wasp (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Oak Marble Gall Wasp is recorded against all the insects logged in Liverpool (185 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
