Bug FAQBeaked Twig Gall Wasp
Burnettweldia plumbella · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Cynipidae
Adult beaked twig gall wasps are tiny, only 3 to 4 mm long. They make bright red or green galls up to 15 mm wide with yellow spots, and the galls have a pointed tip. The wasps induce these galls on several oak species in spring and summer, and the adults emerge in late fall.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The galls get their name from the pointed tip.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adult wasps measure 3 to 4 mm in length.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Galls develop in spring and summer, and the adult wasps emerge in November and December.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Galls appear in spring and summer, with adults emerging in November to December.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It was formerly placed in the genus Disholcaspis before being moved to Burnettweldia in 2021.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 3 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Oregon, Washington.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Cynipidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burnettweldia_plumbella
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.