Cynipini

Cynipini is a tribe of gall wasps. These insects induce galls in plants of the beech and oak family, Fagaceae.^[2] They are known commonly as the oak gall wasps.^[3] It is the largest cynipid tribe, with about 936^[4] to 1000^[3] recognized species, most of which are associated with oaks.^[3] The tribe is mainly native to the Holarctic.^[4]

Phylum:Arthropoda

Class:Insecta

Order:Hymenoptera

Family:Cynipidae

Quick facts Scientific classification, Diversity ...

Cynipini
Cynips sp.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Cynipidae
Subfamily:	Cynipinae
Tribe:	Cynipini Leach, 1815
Diversity
around 680 species[1]

Close

Cynipini wasps can act as ecosystem engineers. Their galls can become hosts of inquilines, and the wasps themselves are hosts to parasitoids.^[5]

Most of these wasps undergo cyclical parthenogenesis, sometimes reproducing sexually, and sometimes producing young without fertilization.^{[3] [6]}