Q: I have hundreds of small balls under my oak tree. They are actually parts of oak leaves rolled up. I cannot find anything inside but I am concerned they are harmful. What are they?

A: I received several calls and a few office visits regarding large numbers of these objects being found under oak trees. These are the result of a small weevil called the Leaf-Rolling Weevil, Homoeolabus analis. These insects are commonly found in the Northeast part of the U.S., down to Florida and over to Texas. The Live Oak is the preferred tree leaf. The roll, called a nidus, is sometimes dropped to the ground and other times the nidus is left on the leaf. Female leaf-rollers lay one egg on the section to be cut and the egg develops into a larva while protected by the leaf layers. The adult weevil has a reddish-brown exoskeleton with black legs, head and snout. Adult Leaf-Rolling Weevils eat holes in oak tree leaves or skeleton the upper leaf tissue for food. Since the weevil causes little damage to the tree, we do not recommend applying any chemical control. For more complete information read the publication attached which is from UF/IFAS Department of Entomology and Nematology. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in753

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