It is native to China and it is known in many other parts of the world, particularly the Northern Hemisphere, as an introduced species and an invasive horticultural pest.

[3] It is now in Korea, Nepal,[4] Italy, Slovenia,[5] France,[6] Switzerland[7] and other parts of Europe, and the southeastern United States.

[2] The adult female wasp is 2.5 to 3 millimeters long and shiny black in color with brown legs.

[2] The larvae develop inside the protective gall structures and emerge from them as adults.

[1] The wasp can fly, but it is distributed to new territory more often by human activity,[9] such as the planting of new trees and the transport of infested wood.

[5] The presence of galls can also increase the likelihood of the tree's becoming infected with chestnut blight, a condition caused by the fungus Cryphonectria parasitica.

The opened gall left by the wasp after it matures and departs may be an entrance through which the fungus can infest the tree's tissues.

In China, with lower labor costs, Chinese chinquapin (Castanea seguinii) is used as a trap crop.