Background and Purpose: Dryocosmus kuriphilus is a globally invasive insect pest, spreading very quickly in new habitats and making serious damage to sweet chestnut forests in Croatia and in several other European countries. Indigenous parasitoid species trophically associated with oak gallwasps have adapted to this new host but cannot effectively regulate its population density. Classical biol...

A new genus of oak gallwasp, Coffeikokkos Pujade-Villar & Melika, gen. n., is described from Costa Rica. Diagnostic characters and generic limits of the new genus are discussed in detail. The new genus includes Coffeikokkos copeyensis Pujade-Villar & Melika, sp. n., which induces galls on stems of Quercus bumelioides, an endemic oak to Costa Rica, Honduras and Panama. The new species and galls ...

Mohammed Reza Zargaran, Nadir Erbilgin, and Youbert Ghosta (2012) Changes in oak gall wasps species diversity (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) in relation to the presence of oak powdery mildew (Erysiphe alphitoides). Zoological Studies 51(2): 175-184. Plant-mediated interactions usually lead to multipartite interactions in a community of organisms. To evaluate the impact of oak powdery mildew Erysiphe ...

The cuticle of certain insect body parts can be hardened by the addition of metals, and because niche separation may require morphological adaptations, inclusion of such metals may be linked to life history traits. Here, we analysed the distribution and enrichment of metals in the mandibles and ovipositors of a large family of gall-inducing wasps (Cynipidae, or Gall-Wasps) (plus one gall-induci...

Gall wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) induce structures (galls) on their host plants that house developing wasps and provide them with protection from natural enemies. The Asian chestnut gall wasp, Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu, is an invasive pest that is destructive to chestnut (Castanea spp.). An improved understanding of the interactions among D. kuriphilus, its host, and its natural enemie...