What is Gall wasp?
{{Taxobox | name = Gall Wasps | image = Eikennapjesgal Neuroterus albipes forma laeviusculus-levelsadjust-mask.jpg | image_width = 250px | image_caption = ''Neuroterus albipes'', parthenogenetic generation females, from galls on ''Quercus robur'' | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Arthropod]]a | classis = [[Insect]]a | ordo = [[Hymenoptera]] | subordo = [[Apocrita]] | familia = '''Cynipidae'''}} [[File:Common Spangle gall.JPG|thumb|right|250px|galls on an oak leaf caused by a wasp]] '''Gall wasps''', also called '''gallflies,''' are the family (Cynipidae) of the order [[Hymenoptera]]. They are in the [[Apocrita]] suborder of wasps. About 1300 species of this small creature (1-8 mm) are known worldwide, with about 360 species of 36 different genera in [[Europe]] and some 800 species in [[North America]].<ref>Liljeblad J. 2002. ''Phylogeny and evolution of gall wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae)''. Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, 1-176. Doctoral thesis.</ref> == Plant galls == The larvae of most gall wasps develop in plant galls they induce themselves. The plant galls develop after the female insect lays the eggs. The inducement for the gall formation is largely unknown. The hatching larvae nourish themselves with the nutritive tissue of the galls, in which they are well-protected from external environmental effects. 70% of the known species live in [[oak|oak tree]]s. One can find galls on nearly all parts of such trees, some on the [[leaf|leaves]], the [[bud]]s, the [[branch]]es, and the [[root]]s. Other species of gall wasps live in [[eucalyptus|eucalyptus trees]], [[rose|rose bushes]] or [[maple|maple trees]], as well as many herbs. == Reproduction and development == Most species have an [[alternation of generations]], with a two-sex generation and a parthenogenic generation each year. == Parasitism == A [[gall]] provides the developing wasp with a safe refuge for this most vulnerable stage of its life cycle. However, other wasps have found a way to penetrate this defence and parasitise th