Well, maybe encounters would be a more appropriate term. This past summer, I spent at least 15 hours a week outside in the live oak trees of Rice University campus. Everyday, I went out with clippers in hand, prepared for another day of gall gathering. At the beginning of the summer, Dr. Egan had sent me out with the not-so-comforting advice of “don’t get stung by wasps.” I went out initially a bit wary, but soon found myself comfortable with the physical contortion and sweaty nature of the task. At that point, the only real negative was the massive amount of confusion which my actions were met with. Understandable, when you see an random person jumping up and down repeatedly grasping as what simply looks like a tree branch.

But after my gathering work was over, I had so much more than just a few tree fragments. I had 1515 galls. I couldn’t have imagined the diversity of the tiny ecosystem within them. Everyday I checked my cups for emergents. Everyday more ants, beetles, synanthedons (wood-boring moths), parasitoid wasps, larvae, and others emerged. While cataloging all of these insects was a lot of data, it was an exciting summer. Once, in a panic at an escaping ant, I accidentally chopped in it half with the 1.5 mL tube I was trying to shove it in! This semester, I am continuing to work with this gall-insect system. Hopefully, the work will reveal something interesting about the bird predation patterns on Callirhytis around campus.