Bug FAQGlechoma gall wasp
Liposthenes glechomae · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Cynipidae
Also called: Gall wasp, Ground Ivy gall wasp
The galls start as tiny red spots on leaves and can grow into large green swellings almost as long as the leaf. This wasp and its host plant are found across Europe, northern Asia (except China), and North America, where both are non-native invaders.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Galls appear first as small red blemishes on foliage and later become large green galls nearly leaf-length.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It occurs in Europe, northern Asia (excluding China), and North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 26 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Illinois.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: introduced in North America; introduced in Canada; introduced 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/Liposthenes_glechomae
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.