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Gouty Oak Gall Wasp

Callirhytis quercuspunctata[3]

The gouty oak gall is a woody twig gall caused by a tiny wasp, Callirhytis quercuspunctata, on pin and other red-group oaks.[1][2]

Group
Insect
Order
Hymenoptera
Family
Cynipidae
US records
27 states
Sources
3 cited
Updated
2026-10-17
Gouty oak gall, a smooth woody swelling on an oak twig
Gouty oak gall, a smooth woody swelling on an oak twig. (c) Jeff Clark, some rights reserved (CC BY) — via iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0
On this page
  1. Identification
  2. Look-alikes
  3. Where it lives
  4. Biology
  5. Damage and signs
  6. Health risk
  7. Control
  8. Related profiles
  9. Common questions
  10. Sources

How to identify it

  • Galls are solid, woody swellings on twigs up to about 2 inches across, sometimes merging into masses along more than 1.5 feet of branch.[1]
  • Unlike horned oak galls, gouty oak galls stay smooth, without the small horns where wasps exit.[1][2]
  • The adult wasps are tiny and rarely noticed; the galls are the sign.[1][2]

Look-alikes

Look-alikeHow to tell them apart
Horned oak gallA twig gall of the related wasp Callirhytis cornigera that develops small horns, one per exiting wasp.[1][2]

Where it lives

Occurs from southern Canada to Georgia; UMass notes woody oak stem galls have historically been a serious problem in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, and on Long Island, New York.[1][2]

US map: public records from 27 states since 1990 (GBIF).

Biology and life cycle

The life cycle is complex and not fully understood; woody twig galls take two or more years to mature.[1][2]

Larvae develop in cells at the center of the gall and feed only on gall tissue.[1][2]

Damage and signs

  • It develops in twigs of pin, scarlet, red and black oaks.[1][2]
  • Galls can kill the branch beyond them, and heavily infested oaks may have galls on 80 percent or more of their branches, causing disfigurement and crown dieback.[1][2]

Health risk

None to people or pets.[1][2]

Control

Traps and physical control

On small trees, prune out and destroy galls while they are small, before the adult wasps leave.[1][2]

Pesticides

Once a gall starts to form it can't be reversed, and insecticides offer little control unless timed exactly to the wasps' flight.[1][2]

Common questions

What are the round woody lumps on my pin oak's twigs?
Smooth ones are likely gouty oak galls; galls with small horns are horned oak galls.[1][2]
Can gouty oak galls kill my oak?
They can kill branches and cause dieback on heavily infested trees.[1][2]

Sources

  1. UMass Extension Landscape, Nursery and Urban Forestry Program (Landscape Insect & Mite Guide), “Callirhytis quercuspunctata (Gouty Oak Gall Wasp).” www.umass.edu/agriculture-food-environment/landscape/publications-resources/insect-mite-guide/callirhytis-quercuspunctata (accessed 2026-10-16)
  2. Penn State Extension, “Galls on Oak (updated June 24, 2026).” extension.psu.edu/galls-on-oak (accessed 2026-10-16)
  3. iNaturalist, “Callirhytis quercuspunctata taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/179371 (accessed 2026-10-06)

Updated 2026-10-17. Built from sourced records. Spot an error? Tell us.