Ok tree drops off small seed like things in piles that jump, and you can hear them. what are they?

Question

the seeds or things that are rolling off the roof from the oak tree.. are poppy seed sized, and a light brown color.

they actually jump! and you can hear them jump.

i have no clue what this is, and i would love to know what it is. they are coming off the oak tree.. rolling off of the roof, and landing in piles in my garden.

Answer 1

They are not seeds actually, they are tiny galls with wasp larva in them.

We have been in our house for 3 summers now and we got these for the first time this year, and they are everywhere in my backyard. We have to eat under a gazebo when we are outside to avoid eating dozens of wasp galls.

Here is a link to a page all about your little jumping seeds:

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/pldec97.ht...

Answer 2

It sounds to me like a “Jumping Bean Tree or Shrub”. A moth lays its egg in the “bean” and when the egg hatches the larva of the moth causes the seed to jump. But that’s just a wild guess on my part – I think these plants are native to Mexico (Mexican Jumping Beans) and I am not sure if they have been introduced elsewhere or if the moth that causes the phenomenon exist anywhere else.

When I was a kid, we used to be able to buy Mexican jumping beans (I think they were 5 to a package) and they would jump around until the larva pupated.