Key to World families of Cynipoidea

Description

This contribution is one of the identification key components published in Buffington ML, Forshage M, Liljeblad J, Tang CT, van Noort, S. 2020. World Cynipoidea (Hymenoptera):a key to higher-level groups. Insect Systematics and Diversity 4(4): 1–69. https://doi.org/10.1093/isd/ixaa003. While much has been learned regarding the phylogeny and evolution of cynipoid wasps, clearly illustrated diagnostic tools and identification keys have remained stagnant. So too, where keys do exist, they are often to genus or species, and there are no user-friendly keys to groups such as tribes, subfamilies, or families. This state of affairs leaves a knowledge gap for non-specialists, and slows future research on the group. To address this, we provide fully illustrated keys to the higher-level groups of world Cynipoidea.This contribution is one of the identification key components published in Insect Systematics and Diversity 2020: World Cynipoidea: a key to higher-level groups (Hymenoptera). While much has been learned regarding the phylogeny and evolution of cynipoid wasps, clearly illustrated diagnostic tools and identification keys have remained stagnant. So too, where keys do exist, they are often to genus or species, and there are no user-friendly keys to groups such as tribes, subfamilies, or families. This state of affairs leaves a knowledge gap for non-specialists, and slows future research on the group. To address this, we provide fully illustrated keys to the higher-level groups of world Cynipoidea.

Authors

Matthew L. Buffington, Mattias Forshage, Johan Liljeblad, Chang-Ti Tang & Simon van Noort