A recent study led by a graduate student at Penn State has uncovered 22 new species of gall wasps – tiny insects that live in strange growths on plants called galls, which they steal from other wasps.
These newly identified species, which nearly double the known number in their genus, have been given playful names inspired by legendary thieves and tricksters from history, mythology and pop culture.
Among them is Ceroptres promethei, named after Prometheus, the mythic figure who stole fire from the gods, a nod to the wasp’s fiery red colouring. Another is Ceroptres selinae, after Selina Kyle (Catwoman), and then there’s Ceroptres soloi, honouring Han Solo, the iconic smuggler from Star Wars.
The discovery, published in the journal Zootaxa, opens new doors for research into these understudied insects. “By naming these species, we give other researchers an anchor they can carry forward to other studies because now they can identify wasps that were previously unknown,” says lead author Louis Nastasi, a doctoral student in entomology at Penn State.
“It provides a base and a tool kit for future work that could help us understand these species and their ecosystems more broadly.”
The project began when a team studying gall wasps' evolution hit a roadblock – they had DNA samples but couldn’t match them to known species.
Nastasi, who specialises in species identification, was brought in to help. After combining molecular data with his own analysis of the wasps' physical traits, he discovered that the samples belonged to entirely new species.
It turns out that some of the wasps thought to be one species were actually two distinct species, Nastasi explains. Only by combining DNA data with detailed physical analysis could they properly distinguish them.
Once the species were identified, the fun began – naming them. Ceroptres bruti, for example, is named after Marcus Junius Brutus, the Roman senator who betrayed Julius Caesar.
While the names might be playful, the work is serious. Gall wasps remain largely mysterious, with many species still sitting in museum drawers awaiting identification.
“We know they live in these galls, and we know which galls they live in, but there’s still so much we don’t know,” Nastasi says. “For instance, how do they actually use the contents of the gall to feed themselves? It’s going to be interesting to see how our new species inform both future species discovery studies and research on the wasps themselves.”
The research is a stepping stone toward future studies, which could uncover even more species and shed light on the biology of these fascinating, thieving insects.
Find out more about the study One must imagine Sisyphus happy: Integrative taxonomic characterization of 22 new Ceroptres species (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Ceroptresini)
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