# Longleaf Wattle Gall Wasp

*Trichilogaster acaciaelongifoliae*

They are highly effective biological control agents; their galls reduce the seed production of invasive Sydney Golden Wattle by over 90%.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Hymenoptera › Melanosomellidae › Trichilogaster
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** forest
- **Habitat:** Sclerophyll forests, coastal woodlands, and acacia-dominated shrublands.
- **Diet:** Larvae feed on inner gall tissue of host plants; adults do not feed.
- **Range:** Australia, South Africa, Portugal
- **Size:** Adults are 2 to 3 mm in length; galls can reach 20 mm in diameter.
- **Lifespan:** Adults live 2 to 3 days; total lifecycle is 1 year.
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Loss of host acacia species in native ranges, and widespread use of broad-spectrum chemical insecticides.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless. These tiny wasps do not possess a stinger capable of hurting humans. If encountered, observe the woody galls on acacia branches without damaging them, as they are crucial for natural ecosystem balance and biological control programs.

## About

Trichilogaster acaciaelongifoliae is a species of Australian chalcid wasps that parasitises, among others, Acacia longifolia (long-leaved wattle, or Sydney golden wattle), which has become an invasive pest in several countries. T. acaciaelongifoliae has been introduced into South Africa as a generally successful biological control agent of A. longifolia .

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/a9756096-74a3-4aa8-877c-4f3778254710
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/355065
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichilogaster acaciaelongifoliae
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/15388370/medium.jpg (Tony Rebelo, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.