Cynipoidea

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Hymenopterida
Ordo: Hymenoptera
Subordo: Apocrita
Superfamilia: Cynipoidea
Familiae (5 + 3†): Austrocynipidae - Cynipidae - Figitidae - Ibaliidae - Liopteridae - †Gerocynipidae - †Protimaspidae - †Stolamissidae
Name

Cynipoidea Latreille, 1802
References

Ronquist, F. 1995: Phylogeny and early evolution of the Cynipoidea (Hymenoptera). Systematic entomology, 20: 309–335.
Ronquist, F. 1999: Phylogeny, classification and evolution of the Cynipoidea. Zoologica scripta, 28(1-2): 139–164. DOI: 10.1046/j.1463-6409.1999.00022.x PDF

Additional references

Muru, D., Madl, M., Jacquot, M., Deguine, J-P. 2017. A literature-based review of Hymenoptera Parasitica and Chrysidoidea from Reunion Island. ZooKeys 652: 55–128. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.652.10729. Reference page.

Vernacular names
日本語: タマバチ上科
Nederlands: Galwespen

The Cynipoidea are a moderate-sized hymenopteran superfamily that presently includes five modern families and three extinct families, though others have been recognized in the past. The most familiar members of the group are phytophagous, especially as gall-formers, though the actual majority of included species are parasitoids or hyperparasitoids. They are typically glossy, dark, smooth wasps with somewhat compressed bodies and somewhat reduced wing venation. It is common for various metasomal segments to be fused in various ways (often diagnostic for families or subfamilies), and the petiole is very short, when present.

With the exception of the Cynipidae (the gall wasps), it is a poorly known group as a whole, though there are nearly 3000 known species in total, and a great many species are still undescribed, mostly in the Figitidae.[1] Each of the constituent families differs in biology, though life histories of one of the families (Liopteridae) are still largely unknown. In July 2020 an identification key for the superfamily was published in the journal Insect Systematics and Diversity, enabling identification to the family level. [2]
References

Mertz, Leslie. "Is That a Gall Wasp? Now You Can Find Out". Entomology Today. Entomological Society of America. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
Buffington, Matthew; Forshage, Mattias; Liljeblad, Johan; van Noort, Simon (July 1, 2020). "World Cynipoidea (Hymenoptera): A Key to Higher-Level Groups". Insect Systematics and Diversity. 4 (4). doi:10.1093/isd/ixaa003. Retrieved 7 July 2020.