Cynipini

Figs 70-72

Diagnosis.

Pronotum distinctly short and narrow dorsomedially, without distinct plate or pits. Scutellar foveae usually distinct. Mesopleuron usually without broad crenulate impression. Female hypopygium only very rarely plowshare-shaped; only so in Protobalandricus Melika, Nicholls & Stone, 2018, in which the mesopleuron is entirely smooth and therein readily separable from Diplolepis Geoffroy, 1762 (Cuesta Porta, pers. comm. 13 Feb 2024).

Note.

Cynipini is represented by an estimated 680 North American species that induce galls primarily on Quercus ( Fagaceae) (Melika et al. 2021). Additional host genera known are Castanea Mill., Chrysolepis Hjelmq., and Notholithocarpus Manos, Cannon, & S.H. Oh (Buffington and Morita 2009). Genera belonging to Cynipini are not keyed in the present work due to the presence of several highly unstable genera that prohibit clear morphological recognition, although recent studies (e.g., Melika et al. 2021) have made taxonomic changes that greatly ease this burden. Further revisionary studies will continue to stabilize genera in the Cynipini, and a key to Cynipini will be published when possible. Relevant keys for Cynipini include Weld (1952), Zimmerman (2018), and Melika et al. (2021), but these works are partial in their taxon coverage or do not align well with current taxonomic hypotheses.