Liposthenes Foerster , 1869

Nastasi, Louis F., Buffington, Matthew L., Davis, Charles K. & Deans, Andrew R., 2024, Key to the North American tribes and genera of herb, rose, bramble, and inquiline gall wasps (Hymenoptera, Cynipoidea, Cynipidae sensu lato), ZooKeys 1196, pp. 177-207 : 177

Liposthenes Foerster, 1869

Type species:

Aulax glechomae Hartig, 1841 (= Cynips glechomae Linnaeus, 1758).

Diagnosis.

Mesoscutum sparsely pubescent, at most with a few scattered setae. Notauli complete. Mesopleuron mostly transversely striate, at most with slight indication of reticulate sculpture. Fore wing with marginal cell open, never with areolet distinct, and always with distinct marginal setae. Second metasomal tergite always with a distinct patch of setae.

Note.

Liposthenes is known in North America from a single introduced species: L. glechomae (Linnaeus, 1758). This species was apparently introduced from Europe along with its host plant, Glechoma hederacea L., and has since become widespread in the United States ( Nastasi and Deans 2021). Liposthenes glechomae is the only known gall wasp associated with Lamiaceae in the Nearctic; all other known Nearctic Aulacideini , both described and known undescribed species, are associated with Asteraceae .

North American species (Nastasi and Deans 2021):

1. Liposthenes glechomae (Linnaeus, 1758)