Odd Jumping Oak Galls 'Pop' Along Street Side

Occurred on July 16, 2021 / Sacramento, California, USA

Info from Licensor: "Look at these thousands of little jumping beads! Are these pop rocks? Popcorn? Ants carrying food? A very windy day? An earthquake? Nope! These are jumping oak galls. According to various sources on the internet, "galls" are seed-like balls that oak trees form around wasp larvae, formed as a reaction to the foreign matter on the tree. The wasps grow into pupae and then adulthood in the galls, which protect them. Various species of wasps produce galls of varying color, shape and size. They eventually fall off the tree. These particular galls, jumping oak galls, form on the underside of white oak leaves and are only 1mm in diameter and contain a tiny species wasp, Neuroterus saltatorius, that is harmless and smaller than a housefly! Eventually an adult Neuroterus saltatorius will emerge from these galls. These can be found on oak trees throughout Northern California, I’ve seen other videos posted about them from Davis and Woodland, CA. This video was shot in the neighborhood of Curtis Park, Sacramento, CA, in mid-July 2021. Sacramento is well know for it’s beautiful trees, hence the nickname City of Trees."