Posted: October 15, 2024

Louis Nastasi and colleagues recently published a paper describing 22 new species of gall wasps in the genus Ceroptres. The species in this group are inquilines, meaning they don't induce galls themselves, but rather lay eggs within the galls of other species and exploit the safety and resources provided by those galls. Because of this lifestyle, the authors decided to name these species after tricksters and thieves in folk lore and pop culture.

This paper was also featured in IFL Science last month!


Nastasi et al. 2024. One must imagine Sisyphus happy: Integrative taxonomic characterization of 22 new Ceroptres species (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Ceroptresini). Zootaxa. 5508 (1): 1-63. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5508.1.1 

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