A new, open-access article, “Afrotropical Cynipoidea (Hymenoptera),” provides resources to enable the identification of parasitoid wasps in Africa and Madagascar. The study was published in the open access journal ZooKeys.

The family Cynipoidea is represented by 306 described species and 54 genera in the region, but there are hundreds of further species to be described. Seven of these genera are only known from undescribed species in the region.

With continued exploration of the region, new species discoveries are being made all the time and an identification resource such as this will facilitate the process of discovery and documentation of the region’s biodiversity.

An overview of the biology and checklists of species for each genus are provided. This paper constitutes the first contributory chapter to a book on Afrotropical Hymenoptera.

This initial contribution to the book on the wasps, bees, and ants of Africa and Madagascar marks a turning point in the larger understanding and appreciation of this incredibly diverse and important order of insects. There are 20,000 described species and 2,000 genera of wasps, bees and ants in the region, but there are hundreds of thousands of species still waiting to be discovered and described.

Read more at:

– Afrotropical Cynipoidea (Hymenoptera)

– Wasps, Bees and Ants of Africa and Madagascar