gall wasp
3
8.6
- noun
- /ɡɔl wɑsp/
- Specialized
- 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
1
9.9
A small wasp that lays eggs on oak leaves causing round growths
1
9.9
An insect that lays eggs in plants and causes swellings called galls where young insects grow
A small wasp that makes round growths called galls on oak trees and other plants
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.