Atrusca brevipennata | |
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Sandia Foothills Open Space, New Mexico, 2022 | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hymenoptera |
Family: | Cynipidae |
Genus: | Atrusca |
Species: | A. brevipennata
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Binomial name | |
Atrusca brevipennata (Kinsey, 1920)
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Synonyms | |
Andricus pellucidus |
Atrusca brevipennata, formerly Andricus pellucidus, also known as the little oak-apple gall wasp, is a locally common species of cynipid wasp that produces galls on oak trees in North America.[1] The wasp oviposits on shrub live oak and Gambel oak leaves.[1] The larval chamber is at the center of the gall, connected to the husk by slender, radiating fibers.[1] This wasp is most commonly observed in the American Southwest, as far north as Denver.[2] It is visually similar to, and may be confused with, Atrusca bella.[1]
Atrusca brevipennata was first studied and introduced to the scientific community by American biologist and sexologist Alfred Kinsey.[3]