96 BRITISH OAK GALLS. 
239 illustrating a specimen (1870). It was also in- 
dependently found by H. Moncrieff at Portsmouth in 
January, 1873, the specimen being a good sized twig 
with a large aggregation of galls around it. 
The galls may now be found in almost any hedgerow 
containing oak bushes. 
When the habitat of this gall is understood there is 
little difficulty in finding numerous specimens in 
localities where they occur. It is almost certain to be 
found quite low down near the roots in thick parts of 
a hedge, sometimes hidden by dead leaves, moss, or 
loose earth. Very seldom at a greater height than 
three feet above the ground, and never on the higher 
boughs, nor in a situation exposed to direct sunlight. 
A favourite place is on a road-side bank which is well 
covered with herbage, including small oak bushes 
whose shoots are occasionally cut off by the hedge 
trimmer. In such spots I have found some of the 
best, and most remarkable specimens in my collection. 
Diligent and careful search is however often necessary. 
It appears to be restricted to certain areas, and not 
found at all in some localities. It is one of the most 
distinctive ‘of the oak galls, and unlike any- other 
British species. 
An egg is laid by Andricus testacerpes beneath the 
bark of a shoot in late summer. The gall begins to 
grow during September, and the bark soon rises in 
consequence. At the close of the autumn, growth 
ceases, but with the return of spring it is resumed. 
About May the bark bursts, and the gall increases 
rapidly. Before the end of July it has reached 
maturity, and the larva pupated. During August and 
September the imago develops within the puparium, 
but it does not emerge from the gall until the following 
spring. 
The red colour of the gall varies in intensity. I 
have found them where concealed from all light, of a 
very pale yellow or cream colour, the apex only slightly 
touched with pink. A cluster of this kind is depicted 
