Gall wasps, also traditionally calledgallflies, are hymenopterans of the family Cynipidae in the wasp superfamily Cynipoidea. Their common name comes from the galls they induce on plants for larval development. About 1,300 species of this generally very small creature are known worldwide, with about 360 species of 36 different genera in Europe and some 800 species in North America.
Carl Robert Osten-Sacken or Carl-Robert Romanovich, Baron von der Osten-Sacken, Baron Osten Sacken was a Russian diplomat and entomologist. He served as the Russian consul general in New York City during the American Civil War, living in the United States from 1856 to 1877. He worked on the taxonomy of flies in general and particularly of the family Tipulidae.
Andricus quercuscalicis is a gall wasp species inducing knopper galls.
Dryocosmus are a genus of gall wasps. They are cyclically parthenogenetic insects that induce galls on plants in the family Fagaceae.
Andricus kollari, also known as the marble gall wasp, is a parthenogenetic species of wasp which causes the formation of marble galls on oak trees. Synonyms for the species include Cynips kollari, Andricus quercusgemmae, A. minor, A. indigenus and A. circulans.
Andricus is a genus of oak gall wasps in the family Cynipidae.
Andricus quercuscalifornicus, or the California gall wasp, is a small wasp species that induces oak apple galls on white oaks, primarily the valley oak but also other species such as Quercus berberidifolia. The California gall wasp is considered an ecosystem engineer, capable of manipulating the growth of galls for their own development. It is found from Washington, Oregon, and California to northern regions of Mexico. Often multiple wasps in different life stages occupy the same gall. The induced galls help establish complex insect communities, promoting the diversification in niche differentiation. Furthermore, the adaptive value of these galls could be attributed their ecological benefits such as nutrition, provision of microenvironment, and enemy avoidance.
Feron kingi, the red cone gall wasp, is a species of gall wasp in the family Cynipidae.
Callirhytis is a genus of gall wasps in the family Cynipidae. There are more than 90 described species in Callirhytis. Wasps in this genus primarily induce wasps on oak trees in North America.
Diplolepis ignota is a species of gall wasp (Cynipidae). Galls in which the larvae live and feed are formed on the leaves of several species of wild rose (Rosa). Individual galls are single-chambered and spherical, but multiple galls can coalesce into irregularly rounded galls.
Andricus mukaigawae is a species of gall wasp native to southeastern Asia. It creates galls on the buds and leaves of oak trees. The galls are sometimes used by other gall wasps unable to create galls of their own, with both species sharing the gall.
Andricus dimorphus, also called the clustered midrib gall wasp, is a species of oak gall wasp in the family Cynipidae. Galls in which the larvae live and feed are formed in clusters along the midrib on the underside of oak leaves.
Synergus japonicus is a species of gall wasp in the family Cynipidae. Whereas most gall wasps create the galls in which they live, Synergus japonicus is an inquiline species, living in the gall created by another species of wasp. It is native to Japan, China and Russia.
Andricus quercuspetiolicola, also called the oak petiole gall wasp, is a species of oak gall wasp in the family Cynipidae. Galls in which the larvae live and feed are formed along the midrib or petiole of white oak leaves.
Cynips quercusechinus, the urchin gall wasp, is a species of gall wasp in the family Cynipidae. It induces galls in the leaves and leaf buds of blue oak and scrub oak. Like other oak gall wasps, it has two generations: a bisexual generation, and a parthenogenic female generation. In spring, the hatching bisexual generation produces hollow green galls in leaf buds. In summer, the unisexual generation induces its galls, which are red or pink and resemble sea urchins, on the undersides of leaves. These galls are about 10 millimetres (0.39 in) in diameter. The galls fall with the leaves in autumn, and the larvae inside of them emerge as adults in the spring and lay their eggs.
Phylloteras is a North American genus of gall wasps in the family Cynipidae, tribe Cynipini .
Druon fullawayi, also known as the yellow wig gall wasp, is a species of gall wasp in the family Cynipidae. It was previously placed in the genus Andricus. William Beutenmüller described the female adult wasps as 1.5-2.25 mm long, black with brown mouth parts and brown legs. The galls of D. fullawayi are tan or yellow, woolly, and measure 5-8 mm in diameter. Each gall holds a single chamber for larvae. They are found in California on oak trees, especially Quercus lobata.
Feron parmula, also known as the disc gall wasp, is a species of oak gall wasp in the genus Feron. It induces galls in a wide selection of oak species, especially white oaks, and including hybrids. The galls are disc-shaped, up to 3 mm in diameter, and pale with red streaking. Adult females emerge in April. The galls induced by F. parmula superficially resemble the galls of Feron gigas,Andricus viscidus, and newly identified species called the "plate gall wasp" and the "orange-cap gall wasp" by Richard Russo. Galls induced by this wasp have been documented in Oregon and California on the Pacific coast of North America.
Feron gigas, also known as the saucer gall wasp, is a species of gall-forming wasp in the genus Feron. It induces galls on the leaves of scrub oaks, blue oaks, and Engelmann oaks. The galls produced by its all-female generation, which emerges in winter, are 3-4 mm wide, circular with raised edges. They are red, pink, brown, or purple. The larval chamber exists as a raised bump in the gall's center. The bisexual generation produces galls that are brown and cone-shaped.
Trichoteras is a genus of gall-inducing Hymenopteran that has several species formerly classed as Andricus. Trichoteras characteristics include antennae with 10 flagellomeres. An entomologist writing in 2018 stated that "is questionable that Heteroecus and Trichoteras should be synonymized with Andricus" in regard to a proposed taxonomic reorganization of 2002. Ronald A. Russo in Plant Galls of the Western United States moves species like the golden oak apple wasp from Andricus to Trichoteras, while acknowledging the previously accepted binomials. William Harris Ashmead first defined this genus in 1897.
