Synophrus politus Hartig, 1843

Host plants. Israel: Q. ithaburensis . Elsewhere: several species from section Cerris.

Host gall-wasp. The sexual generation invades galls of species in the Andricus burgundus complex (Pénzes et al. 2009).

Life history. Known only from the sexual generation, which develops in galls induced by the Andricus burgundus complex (e.g., A. caputmedusae, A. coriarius, A. curtisii) (Pujade-Villar et al. 2003a; Pénzes et al. 2009). In Israel, this species has been reared from the clustered, conical bud galls of A. coriarius (Fig. 52), causing them to develop into a single spherical unilocular gall, up to 15 mm in diameter, of the same color of the branch, with very hard walls encircling a single larval chamber (Fig. 41; Sternlicht 1968b, Figs 13, 15–17). Invaded galls were found in February and adult inquilines emerged in December-January.

Distribution. Israel: Mezar, Hosha’aya, Alonim, Tiv’on, Hasharon Forest. Elsewhere: Northwest Africa to Iran.

Comments. The galls of this species resemble somewhat those of Aphelonys persica but A. persica galls are light brown, with more delicate and sometimes wrinkled surface (Fig. 37), whereas S. politus galls are of the same color of the branches, rougher and more rigid. Moreover, A. persica galls are hollow and thin-walled (Fig. 38) relative to the very thick-walled galls of S. politus .