Oak leaf galls (specifically from the gall wasp Belonocnema kinseyi or a related cynipid species) at Lake Somerville Trailway near Birch Creek Unit of Somerville Lake State Park. Ants harvest the galls, carry them back to the nest to consume the nutritious outer layer, and often discard the hard inner "seed" (which contains the wasp larva) unharmed. This is a newly discovered form of "myrmecochory" (ant dispersal) where the gall wasp manipulates the ants to transport its offspring to the safety of the ant nest. Texas
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Sun 14 Dec 2025 09:51:00 - Exposure: 3 sec - Aperture: F/32. - Focal length: 100 mm - ISO 200
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Album 3789: College Station - Lake Somerville, Texas, December 13 - 14, 2025
