Ball-tipped Gall Wasp (Xanthoteras teres)

Ball-tipped Gall Wasp, a reference photo — Photo: Garth Harwood · CC BY 4.0 (licence)

Xanthoteras teres (formerly Trigonapsis teres), the ball-tipped gall wasp, is a species of cynipid wasp that produces galls on oak trees in Oregon and California in North America. The wasp oviposits on the leaves of Oregon oaks and leather oaks, resulting in a somewhat Suessian gall that has an upright stalk topped by a fuzzy ball. The species was first described by Lewis Hart Weld in 1926.

From Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Is it venomous or poisonous?

We have no record of Ball-tipped Gall Wasp being toxic, poisonous or venomous. That is not proof that it is safe. Never eat, touch or handle a wild plant, mushroom or animal on the strength of an identification; ask someone qualified.

Easily confused with

Xanthoteras clavuloides
Andricus brunneus
Feron atrimentum
Feron bakkeri

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Cynipidae
Genus: Xanthoteras
Species: Xanthoteras teres

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