gall wasp
3
8.6
- noun
- /ɡɔl wɑsp/
- Specialized
:
avispa de la agalla
- The tiny female gall wasp lays her eggs inside the tissue of an oak leaf, causing the plant to form a gall.
- collect gall wasps
Examples
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The female gall wasp deposits her eggs on a certain species of oak known for excrescences called "gall nuts."
Academic text (2007) -
After studying thousands of these pesky creatures under the microscope, I've yet to find a single gall wasp that's the same as another.
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So, what makes the gall wasp so fascinating?
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I'm studying gall wasps, Mom.
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I've been reading up on gall wasps.
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This is the American Cynipidae, or gall wasp.
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By the time Anne was born, I had collected over 200,000 gall wasps.
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I've spent the last three years crisscrossing the continent, collecting gall wasps.
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By September 1919, doctorate in hand, he embarked on a year-long field trip to collect gall wasps.
Academic text (2006) -
The insects induce oak trees to produce bizarrely shaped woody growths to harbor developing gall-wasp eggs.
Academic text (2006)
Synonyms
A small wasp that makes round growths called galls on oak trees and other plants
A small wasp that lays eggs on oak leaves causing round growths
An insect that lays eggs in plants and causes swellings called galls where young insects grow
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is transparently built from 'gall' (a plant growth) + 'wasp' (an insect), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a wasp associated with galls (one that induces or lives in them). Noun–noun compounds that specify a subtype or association are common cross-linguistically, making the meaning predictable from the constituents.
Etymology
The noun gall wasp names a small insect that makes a gall, a round, odd growth, on oak leaves or stems. The wasp lays its eggs inside that 'gall' so the young have a safe 'home', which is why the insect is called a gall wasp.