Gall wasps (Cynipidae) comprise about 1,600 species worldwide and around 300 in Central Europe. Most develop in plant galls, but some also occur in other insects as parasites or parasitoids. Reproduction is either normally sexual or partly parthenogenetic. In most species there is alternation of generations, with a sexual generation and one or more parthenogenetic generations. The larvae develop in galls produced by chemical and/or mechanical stimuli and feed on their tissue.

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