Animals

The March of the Red Crab
A Moth Find a New Home
Suicidal Birds
A leopard and A cheetah
The Spectacular Hornbill
The Antelope with an extraordinary nose
Masquerading Males
Tiny But Powerful
Electric Fishes
Paternal Care
Hairless Cat
Passionate Parrot
Calling Out To Mother
Hot Wheels
Discs On Their Wings
Two-humped Camels
Frozen Frog
Silken Chambers
Earth Pig
Swordsman of the Sea
The Ostrich Trick
Electrifying Meal
Bizarre Turtle
Grey Whales
The Flying Lemur
The Winged Fishing Creature
Llamas
A Different Sort of a Parrot
The Tailless Cat
The Ancestor Of The Rhino
Acquisitive Wood Rats
The Butterflyfish
The Amazing Jumper
The Largest Deer
The Devil’s Coach-Horse
The Porcupine With A Prehensile Tail
The Irritating Fencing
The Acrobatic Otter
The Busy Termite Colony
Superb Mimics
The Canary
Snow Monkey
Jumping Spiders
Glass Lizard
Beetle Rhino
The World’s Smallest Bear
Hygienic Ants
Flat as a Pancake
The Carpet Shark
The Centipede Walk

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Jumping Larvae

The “jumping galls” of California are one of nature's most interesting creations. Gall formation begins when a female gall wasp injects her eggs into oak leaves just as the leaves are beginning to grow.
When the larvae hatch, they begin feeding on the leaf tissue surrounding them. The tree defends itself by growing a tough mass of tissue around the larva,which is called a gall.
The trees then shed the gall-infested leaves. Millions of galls fall to the ground.
The larvae inside move, making these galls ‘hop’ about! During the summer months, the sound of the jumping galls in the leaf litter is like the sharp patter of raindrops on dry leaves!
Many months later, the adult wasps escape by chewing a circular tunnel through the wall of the gall.

Most insect galls are relatively harmless to their host plants. Oak galls were once gathered in Europe and Asia as a source of tannin and used for turning animal hide into leather. Gallic acid, first isolated from oak leaf galls, is also used in dyes and inks.

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Last updated on :10/14/2004