Gall wasp-like
| Gall wasp-like | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Common oak gall wasp ( Cynips quercusfolii ) |
||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||
|
||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||
| Cynipoidea | ||||||||
| Latreille , 1802 |
The Cynipoidea , often referred to as gall wasps after the type family, are a superfamily of hymenoptera. The superfamily, which is widespread worldwide, comprises around 3000 described species, but it is assumed that a multiple of this number is still unknown and unknown. Most of the species are parasitoids of other insect species. The first larval stages live inside their growing host (koinobiont); the larva leaves this in the penultimate instar. In the last two larval stages, it then continues to eat from the outside of its host's corpse. The species of the gall wasp family (Cynipidae) have returned to a herbivorous (phytophagous) way of life.
Systematics and characteristics
Although there are only a few distinct characteristics (apomorphies), almost all researchers agree that the superfamily has a common community of descent, i.e. H. a monophyletic taxon. Characteristic features are the special structure of the wing veins and the construction of the abdomen, which is always narrow on the sides and more or less high arched. In addition, the abdominal plates (sternites) of the second and third abdominal segments are always fused or at least moved closely together. Most species are inconspicuously black or dark in color, but there are also species with conspicuous warning colors ("wasp costume" black and yellow), but never metallic colors. The antennae are thread-shaped and have one more limb in the male than in the female, typically 11/12 or 12/13 limbs. A triangular radial cell is characteristic in the wing. The marginal vein (Costa) and a wing mark (Pterostigma) are always missing (exception: Austrocynips , family Austrocynipidae, with one species). The superfamily is usually divided into two groups that can be distinguished in physique and lifestyle, the Macrocynipoidea and the Microcynipoidea. The Macrocynipoidea are not a group with a common ancestry, i. H. not a monophyletic taxon. The Microcynipoidea are by far more species-rich and comprise more than 90% of the total number of species.
Macrocynipoidea
As expressed in the name, these are species with on average larger body size. All species in this group are endoparasitoids from wood-boring insect larvae. The adults pupate in the wood and then have to gnaw their way from their host's drill hole to the wood surface in order to hatch. All adults therefore have special features in their physique that serve this purpose. These include an elongated physique, strong mandibles, and a body surface sculpted with ribs and ridges. Hosts are wood wasp larvae, beetle larvae and butterfly caterpillars.
- Austrocynipidae . Only one species is known: Austrocynips mirabilis .
- Ibaliidae
- Liopteridae
Microcynipoidea
These are predominantly small-sized species. Most species are parasitoids of the larvae of phytophagous or predatory insect species that live freely, but there are also rare parasitoids of wood-dwelling larvae among them. Other types are hyperparasitoids. Hosts are mainly dipteras and reticulated wasps, the hyperparasites brackish wasps and wasps, and quite often other gall wasp species. The "trunk" (mesosoma) is often short and high arched, the "abdomen" (metasoma) is usually round or oval shaped when viewed from the side and strongly compressed at the sides, so strikingly narrow and high.
The microcynipoidea comprise two families:
- Cynipidae ( gall wasps )
- Figitidae
Fossils
Fossil finds of gall wasps are rare. The earliest finds come from the younger Cretaceous . Mostly it concerns inclusions (inclusions) in amber. There are also relatively extensive finds of compression fossils from the Cenomanian from the Russian Far East and the Siberian Taimyr Peninsula. There are also finds from the (Eocene) Baltic amber. In addition to the recent families, two other extinct families are listed that are only known to be fossilized (all Macrocynipoidea).
Web links
swell
- Frederick Ronquist (1995): Phylogeny and early evolution of the Cynipoidea (Hymenoptera). Systematic Entomology 20: 309-335. doi : 10.1111 / j.1365-3113.1995.tb00099.x
- Fredrik Ronquist (1999): Phylogeny, classification and evolution of the Cynipoidea. Zoologica Scripta 28: 139-164. doi : 10.1046 / j.1463-6409.1999.00022.x
- Zhiwei Liu, Michael S. Engel, David A. Grimaldi (2007): Phylogeny and Geological History of the Cynipoid Wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea). American Museum Novitates 3583, 1-48.