Failed insect husbandry

Curious about the critter(s) inhabiting this very common gall on Quercus turbinella, I brought a half-dozen back from my most recent visit to Rackensack Canyon. I placed them in a pint canning jar and covered it with cheesecloth. Within a couple of days, this wasp emerged; it's identical to an individual I photographed in the field. The next day it was joined by this adult wasp (presumably - jointed antennae).

I intended to return them to Rackensack the next morning, but it turns out that a single layer of cheesecloth is not an impermeable barrier to these guys. They took it on the wing and they or their remains are somewhere here in the house.

הועלה ב-אוגוסט 17, 2019 10:12 אחה"צ על ידי stevejones