May 30, 2006

What the heck is this? or Isn't this how those alien movies start?

I was outside taking pictures of flowers or where I hope to have flowers when I noticed this on the oak tree in my front yard. I have no idea what it is and I hope it didn't infect me with noxious spores or fire a small alien-life-bearing dart into my skin while I took this picture.

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Posted by bbarton at May 30, 2006 11:46 AM

Comments

That is the freakiest thing I've seen! Have you figured out what it is yet? I hope you didn't touch it!! Ewww..

Posted by: xianfern on May 30, 2006 02:48 PM

No idea...and I didn't touch it! *running around like a girl with my arms flailing in the air*

Posted by: Bob on May 30, 2006 02:51 PM

Did you ever find an answer to the oak tree puzzle? I just found the same thing on a small oak down by our pond!!

Posted by: Barbie on April 16, 2007 01:44 PM

I seen these on an oak tree just today. I have been searching the internet looking to find out what they are and stumbled across your page. As much as I can figure out so far is that they are female oak tree flowers. I hadn't even realized oaks had flowers! If you get any more information on what they are I would love to know. I thought they were rather pretty.

Posted by: beetle on June 14, 2008 06:22 PM

I too found some of those crazy cotton-candy things and took a picture of them and had no idea whatsoever what they were! Turns out to be an insect gall -- it's from a little wasp, Callirhytis seminator. The wasp injects its egg under the tree bark, and the egg/larva induces the tree to grow this structure, which protects & nourishes the larva.

Posted by: Anita Gould on May 11, 2009 10:24 PM
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