Content deleted Content added
Friesen5000 (talk | contribs) Hearn et al |
Friesen5000 (talk | contribs) reference template |
||
Line 22:
The '''Cynipoidea''' are a moderate-sized [[hymenoptera]]n 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 [[phytophagy|phytophagous]], especially as [[gall]]-formers, though the actual majority of included species are [[parasitoid]]s or [[hyperparasite|hyperparasitoid]]s. They are typically glossy, dark, smooth wasps with somewhat compressed bodies and somewhat reduced wing venation. It is common for various [[metasoma]]l segments to be fused in various ways (often diagnostic for families or subfamilies), and the [[petiole (insect)|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]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mertz |first1=Leslie |title=Is That a Gall Wasp? Now You Can Find Out |url=https://entomologytoday.org/2020/07/06/gall-wasp-find-out-cynipoidea-key-insect-systematics-diversity/ |website=Entomology Today |publisher=Entomological Society of America |accessdate=7 July 2020}}</ref> 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. <ref name=BuffingtonEtAl2020>{{
==References==
|