Cynips divisa Hartig, 1840

Shachar, Einat, Melika, George, Inbar, Moshe & Dorchin, Netta, 2018, The oak gall wasps of Israel (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae, Cynipini) - diversity, distribution and life history, Zootaxa 4521 (4), pp. 451-498 : 474

Cynips divisa Hartig, 1840

Host plants. Israel: Q. boissieri . Elsewhere: several oak species from section Quercus .

Life history. Both the sexual and asexual generations are known but in Israel only the leaf galls of the asexual generation were found. These are spherical, detachable galls on the underside of the leaves, 4–6 mm in diameter and single-chambered ( Fig. 33 ). Young galls are green and fleshy, turning golden-brown and thick-walled when mature. Galls of the sexual generation are small, conical, single-chambered leaf-margin galls with a small apical tip.

Phenology. In Europe, galls of the asexual generation begin to develop in June and adults emerge from them in October-November or in February-March of the following year. In Israel they were found in July but no adults were reared from them. Galls of the sexual generation develop rapidly after leaf burst in spring and adults emerge in May.

Distribution. Israel: Throughout the distribution range of Q. boissieri . Elsewhere: A common species from the Iberian Peninsula to Transcaucasia and Iran.

Comments. Galls of the asexual generation of this species are somewhat similar to those of Cynips quercus on the same host plant ( Fig. 32 ) but are smaller and golden-brown rather than green.

Figures

FIGURES 29–34. Galls on Quercus boissieri. 29. Cynips cornifex, asexual generation; 30. Neuroterus numismalis, sexual generation; 31. Neuroterus anthracinus, asexual generation; 32. Cynips quercus, asexual generation; 33. Cynips divisa, asexual generation; 34. Neuroterus albipes, asexual generation.