Taxonomy and Biology ofAndricus miriami(Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini)—A Remarkable Bud-Galling Cynipid from the Middle East

Abstract

The rich Israeli fauna of cynipid gall wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) includes dozens of species, many of which induce complex, conspicuous galls on the five local oak species, in what constitutes the southern edge of distribution for both the wasps and their host plants. The taxonomy and life history of the cynipid species of the Levant in general, and of Israel in particular, are virtually unstudied, although some of the Israeli galls were recorded and keyed in the 1960s. As part of a comprehensive revision of the Israeli cynipid fauna, we describe here Andricus miriami n. sp., which induces one of the most conspicuous and complex galls in inflorescence buds of Quercus ithaburensis along the Galilee and Coastal Plain in Israel, and in north-western Jordan. The species has been treated in the literature as a nomen nudum since 1968, and its current description clarifies its taxonomic status and validates the name given to it when first reported. We provide a detailed description of adults of the asexual generation and the galls they induce, as well as information on their life history and distribution.