Wool Sower Wasp Galls
White Oak
A tiny wasp stings the stem and deposits eggs. The eggs command the tree to grow a specific structure that encases and protects the larvae. Inside the gall the larvae look like seeds packed side by side with fuzzy tails. The cycle takes two years to complete. Though strangely parasitic, it doesn’t hurt the trees.
Another wasp evolved an ovipositor to sting the larvae within the gall and deposit eggs on THEM. Parasites have parasites.
@eyeinhand Such vibes of "A door into ocean", a #scifi book by Joan Slonczewski where the practice of regenerative medicine includes living plant pods that nurse humans back into health. Of course the author, a microbiologist, likely is well-versed in the many wonders of nature including gall wasps.
By the way these are Callirhytis seminator wasps https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callirhytis_seminator and there have been observations all over the US East Coast and Midwest: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=97394&subview=map&taxon_id=123900
EyeInHand
Albert Cardona