Bullfinch (Tamabachi) - Bullfinch

Japanese: タマバチ(玉蜂) - タマバチ

A general term for insects belonging to the order Hymenoptera, family Cynipidae. Adults are small (2-6 mm in body length) and shiny black. Most species create galls on plants and grow by feeding on the internal plant tissue. Nearly 90% of species parasitize oaks, while the rest parasitize a small number of plants such as those in the Rosaceae and Asteraceae families. Many species create galls of various shapes on leaves, branches, trunks, roots, flowers, and fruit, and lead complex lives. For example, the oak apple gall wasp Biorhiza weldi creates apple-shaped galls measuring approximately 4 cm in diameter on the tips of branches of oaks and other trees in the spring, and females and males emerge in June.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

膜翅目タマバチ科Cynipidaeに属する昆虫の総称。成虫は小型(体長2～6mm)で光沢のある黒色をしている。大部分の種類は植物に虫こぶをつくり，内部の植物組織を食べて発育する。90％近くの種類はナラ類に寄生し，このほかはバラ科，キク科などの少数の植物に寄生する。葉，枝，幹，根，花，実などに，さまざまな形をした虫こぶをつくり，複雑な生活を送る種類が多い。例えばナラリンゴタマバチBiorhiza weldiは，春にコナラなどの枝の先に直径4cm近いリンゴ状の虫こぶをつくり，6月に雌と雄が羽化する。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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