Mossy Rose Gall Wasp

Mossy Rose Gall Wasp

Diplolepis rosae

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Sofia

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%

6 Verified sightings at Sofia
299 In all 16 parks From 2019 to 2026
January Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Mossy Rose Gall Wasp

Diplolepis rosae is a gall wasp which causes a gall known as the rose bedeguar gall, robin's pincushion, mossy rose gall, or simply moss gall. The gall develops as a chemically induced distortion of an unopened leaf axillary or terminal bud, mostly on field rose (Rosa arvensis) or dog rose (Rosa canina) shrubs. The female wasp lays up to 60 eggs within each leaf bud using her ovipositor. The grubs develop within the gall, and the wasps emerge in spring; the wasp is parthenogenetic with fewer than one percent being males.

A similar gall is caused by Diplolepis mayri, but this is much less common. Being so prominent and interesting in appearance, this gall has more folklore attached to it than most. The term 'Bedeguar, Bedegar or Bedequar' comes from a French word, bédégar, and is ultimately from the Persian, bād-āwar, meaning 'wind-brought'. Robin in Robin's pincushion refers to the woodland sprite of English folklore, Robin Goodfellow.

The female is about 4 mm (0.16 in) long. Parts of the abdomen and legs are yellow-red, while the rest of the body is black. The male is black and lacks the hypopygium structure which clearly identifies the species... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Aigüestortes National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
2 Fertő-Hanság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~10%
3 Sierra Nevada National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
4 Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
5 Ecrins National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
6 Picos de Europa National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
7 Snowdonia National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
8 Redwood National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
9 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
10 Cévennes National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
11 Triglav National Park 🇸🇮 Slovenia
~10%
12 Mercantour National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
13 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
14 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%
15 Cairngorms National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
16 Bavarian Forest National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 London 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
2 Prague 🇨🇿 Czechia
~10%
3 Birmingham 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
4 Copenhagen 🇩🇰 Denmark
~10%
5 Berlin 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%
6 Salt Lake City 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
7 Liverpool 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
8 Vienna 🇦🇹 Austria
~10%
9 Cologne 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%
10 Sofia 🇧🇬 Bulgaria
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Mossy Rose Gall Wasp in Sofia?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mossy Rose Gall Wasp sighting in Sofia on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 74th most-seen of the 115 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Mossy Rose Gall Wasp in Sofia?

January

In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Mossy Rose Gall Wasp in Sofia on a given day, against under 5% in February–May, August and October–December, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Mossy Rose Gall Wasp?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mossy Rose 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.

Is Sofia the best place to see a Mossy Rose Gall Wasp?

Among the best

Of the 34 cities where we can rate Mossy Rose Gall Wasp sightings, Sofia ranks 10th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in London (United Kingdom, about 10%), Prague (Czechia, about 10%) and Birmingham (United Kingdom, about 10%).

Where does the Mossy Rose Gall Wasp sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Mossy Rose Gall Wasp is recorded against all the insects logged in Sofia (6 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.

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