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1. Comparative anatomy of venom glands suggests a role of maternal secretions in gall induction by cynipid wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae)

   https://doi.org/10.1093/isd/ixad022  

   Guiguet, Antoine; Tooker, John F; Deans, Andrew R; Mikó, István; Ning, Gang; Schwéger, Szabina; Hines, Heather M (September 2023, Insect Systematics and Diversity)

   Bond, Jason (Ed.)

   Abstract Many herbivorous insect species are capable of hijacking plant development to induce novel plant organs called galls. In most groups of galling insects, the insect organs and molecular signals involved in gall induction are poorly understood. We focused on gall wasps (Hymenoptera:Cynipidae), the second largest clade of gall inducers (~1,400 spp.), for which the developmental stages and organs responsible for gall development are unclear. We investigated the female metasomal anatomy of 69 gall-inducing and 29 non-gall-inducing species across each of the major lineages of Cynipoidea, to test relationships between this lifestyle and the relative size of secretory organs. We confirmed that the venom apparatus in gall-inducing species is greatly expanded, although gall-inducing lineages vary in the relative size of these glands. Among these gallers, we measured the largest venom gland apparatus relative to body size ever recorded in insects. Non-galling inquiline species are accompanied by a reduction of this apparatus. Comparative microscopic analysis of venom glands suggests varying venom gland content across the lineages. Some oak gallers also had enlarged accessory glands, a lipid-rich organ whose function remains unclear, and which has not been previously studied in relation to gall formation. Together, the massive expansion of secretory organs specifically in gall-inducing species suggests a role of these secretions in the process of gall formation, and the variance in size of venom glands, accessory glands, and the contents of these glands among gallers, suggests that gall formation across this clade is likely to employ a diversity of molecular strategies. 

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2. Catalogue of Rose Gall, Herb Gall, and Inquiline Gall Wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) of the United States, Canada and Mexico

   https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.9.e68558  

   Nastasi, Louis; Deans, Andrew (August 2021, Biodiversity Data Journal)

   Cynipidae (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea) is a diverse group of wasps, many of which are capable of inducing plants to make galls, novel structures that protect and nourish the wasps' larvae. Other cynipids, especially those species in Ceroptresini and Synergini, are understood to be usurpers of galls made by other cynipids. The North American cynipid fauna has not been fully catalogued since 1979, but there is renewed interest in revising the taxonomy and in doing research that sheds light on the mechanisms of gall induction, the evolution of this life history, and their ecological interactions more broadly. Significant taxonomic changes have impacted the group since 1979, thereby warranting a new catalogue. The current state of knowledge of species classified in Aulacideini, Ceroptresini, Diastrophini, Diplolepidini, Phanacidini and Synergini in the United States, Canada, and Mexico is summarised in catalogue format. We report 323 names, including 170 valid species of rose gall wasps, herb gall wasps, and inquiline gall wasps, classified in 12 genera, from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Current taxonomic status, distribution, host associations, and vernacular names are listed for each species. The catalogue also includes the original description of galls for many species of gall-inducer, as well as atomised characterisations of different gall traits as key-value pairs. For most galling species without existing vernacular names, new vernacular names are proposed. 

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3. The Arthropod Associates of 155 North American Cynipid Oak Galls

   Ward, AKG; Busbee, RW; Chen, RA; Davis, CK; Driscoe, A; Egan, SP; Goldberg, BAR; Hood, GR; Jones, DG; Kranz, AJ; et al (November 2022, Zoological studies)

   The identities of most arthropod associates of cynipid-induced oak galls in the western Palearctic are generally known. However, a comprehensive accounting of associates has been performed for only a small number of the galls induced by the estimated 700 species of cynipid gall wasps in the Nearctic. This gap in knowledge stymies many potential studies of diversity, coevolution, and community ecology, for which oak gall systems are otherwise ideal models. We report rearing records of insects and other arthropods from more than 527,306 individual galls representing 201 different oak gall types collected from 32 oak tree species in North America. Of the 201 gall types collected, 155 produced one or more arthropods. A total of 151,075 arthropods were found in association with these 155 gall types, and of these 61,044 (40.4%) were gall wasps while 90,031 (59.6%) were other arthropods. We identified all arthropods to superfamily, family, or, where possible, to genus. We provide raw numbers and summaries of collections, alongside notes on natural history, ecology, and previously published associations for each taxon. For eight common gall-associated genera (Synergus, Ceroptres, Euceroptres, Ormyrus, Torymus, Eurytoma, Sycophila, and Euderus), we also connect rearing records to gall wasp phylogeny, geography, and ecology - including host tree and gall location (host organ), and their co-occurrence with other insect genera. Though the diversity of gall wasps and the large size of these communities is such that many Nearctic oak gall-associated insects still remain undescribed, this large collection and identification effort should facilitate the testing of new and varied ecological and evolutionary hypotheses in Nearctic oak galls. 

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4. Speciation in kleptoparasites of oak gall wasps often correlates with shifts into new tree habitats, tree organs, or gall morphospace

   https://doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpad202  

   Ward, Anna_K G; Zhang, Y Miles; Brown, Guerin E; Hippee, Alaine C; Prior, Kirsten M; Rollins, Shannon; Sierra, Nicolas; Sheikh, Sofia I; Tribull, Carly M; Forbes, Andrew A (November 2023, Evolution)

   Taylor, Scott; Zelditch, Miriam (Ed.)

   Abstract Host shifts to new plant species can drive speciation for plant-feeding insects, but how commonly do host shifts also drive diversification for the parasites of those same insects? Oak gall wasps induce galls on oak trees and shifts to novel tree hosts and new tree organs have been implicated as drivers of oak gall wasp speciation. Gall wasps are themselves attacked by many insect parasites, which must find their hosts on the correct tree species and organ, but also must navigate the morphologically variable galls with which they interact. Thus, we ask whether host shifts to new trees, organs, or gall morphologies correlate with gall parasite diversification. We delimit species and infer phylogenies for two genera of gall kleptoparasites, Synergus and Ceroptres, reared from a variety of North American oak galls. We find that most species were reared from galls induced by just one gall wasp species, and no parasite species was reared from galls of more than four species. Most kleptoparasite divergence events correlate with shifts to non-ancestral galls. These shifts often involved changes in tree habitat, gall location, and gall morphology. Host shifts are thus implicated in driving diversification for both oak gall wasps and their kleptoparasitic associates. 

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5. Catalog of Endophytic Insects Associated with Rosinweeds ( Silphium L., Heliantheae, Asteraceae) in North America

   https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/8464635  

   Nastasi, Louis F; Smith, Cecil N; Tooker, John F; Deans, Andrew R (January 2024, Psyche: A Journal of Entomology)

   Tomanovic, Zeljko (Ed.)

   Endophytic insects, including gall insects and leaf miners, are prominent in both natural and agricultural plant communities. We catalog the endophytic insect fauna in North America that are known to associate with rosinweeds (SilphiumL., Heliantheae, Asteraceae). We provide details on host plant species, brief descriptions of insect associations, and known distributions of their association withSilphiumspecies. We report associations with rosinweeds for 41 insect species from 18 families across four insect orders and detail the host plant tissue where these insects occur. The complex community we describe suggests that a further study of rosinweed endophytic insects could be useful to understanding evolution of host‐plant preferences andSilphiumspecies boundaries. 

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