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By Adam Kranz • July 26, 2026 (Updated July 26, 2026)

Undescribed species named

Gallformers codes unite evidence about undescribed galls, creating a preliminary data resource and hands-on field knowledge to support taxonomic description. In several cases, that has culminated in the official description of the inducing species:

  • Zhang, Y. Miles, et al. (2022). "Discovery through iNaturalist: new species and new records of oak gall wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini) from Texas, USA." Zootaxa 5168(1): 63-74.
    • Druon laceyi was first noticed by Gallformers contributors on iNaturalist observations and collectors were provided for description through our network.
  • Nicholls, James A., Nick E. Furlan, and George Melika (2023). "Holocynips illinoiensis, sp. nov., a new species of oak gall wasp (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) from the USA." Zootaxa 5301(4): 469-485.
    • Holocynips illinoiensis was discovered by a Gallformers contributor and described through connections made by the Gallformers network.
  • Mapes, Carol C., et al. (2025). "First record of a gall-inducing mordellid in North America: Pseudomordellina hattorii (Coleoptera: Mordellidae) induces galls on common mugwort, Artemisia vulgaris in the Northeastern United States." Transactions of the American Entomological Society 151(2): 267-276.
    • We created a Gallformers code for this unknown gall and tracked its occurrences. Carol Mapes' lab identified it as Pseudomordellina hattorii, previously unrecorded on this continent and introduced from Japan.
  • Gagné, Raymond J., et al. (2026). "A new genus and species of gall midge (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) from Populus spp. (Salicaceae) in western North America." Applied Entomology and Zoology.
    • Leucecis eminens was first flagged on iNaturalist and carried here as an undescribed gall, then described as a new genus and species with a Gallformers contributor as a coauthor.

New records by contributors

  • Friesen, Chris, and Y. Miles Zhang (2021). "Rose gall wasps (Cynipidae: Diplolepis) of Manitoba, including a new provincial record." Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Manitoba 77.
    • Coauthored by a Gallformers contributor.
  • Sullivan, Ramsey (2026). "Three new records of gall inducers in Alaska." Newsletter of the Alaska Entomological Society 18(1).
    • Coauthored by a Gallformers contributor.
  • Wenninger, Alexandria (2025). "Community science collaboration enhances understanding of fireweed flower gall midge distribution in Alaska." Newsletter of the Alaska Entomological Society 17(1).
    • Community scientists recorded several times as many observations of the fireweed flower gall midge as the formal survey did, filling in its Alaskan range.
    • The midge itself was redescribed the year before, coauthored by a Gallformers contributor: Gagné, Raymond J., et al. (2024). "Redescription of Dasineura epilobii (Löw), a Holarctic gall midge (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae)." Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 126(3): 292-299.

Research building on Gallformers

Trait and phenotype data

  • Deans, Andrew R., Louis Frank Nastasi, and Charles Davis (2024). "GallOnt: An ontology for plant gall phenotypes." Biodiversity Data Journal 12: e128585.
    • Draws on Gallformers trait data.
  • Ward, Anna K. G., et al. (2024). "Speciation in kleptoparasites of oak gall wasps often correlates with shifts into new tree habitats, tree organs, and gall morphospace." Evolution 78(1): 174-187.
    • Cites Gallformers for trait data.
  • Prior, Kirsten M., et al. (2023). "Host-enemy interactions provide limited biotic resistance for a range-expanding species via reduced apparent competition." Diversity and Distributions 29(11): 1355-1370.
    • Cites Gallformers for identification help and trait data.
  • Davis, Charles K., et al. (2026). "Minimalism is in: two new Diastrophus (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) species inducing inconspicuous galls on cinquefoils (Rosaceae: Potentilleae), with evaluation of the extended phenotype across gall wasps." Journal of Natural History 60(5-8): 421-445.
    • Uses Gallformers as a reference for assembling a list of cryptic galls from the literature.

Host associations and occurrence

  • Zaldívar-Riverón, Alejandro, et al. (2026). "Integrative systematics of a new species of the gall wasp genus Belonocnema Mayr (Cynipidae, Cynipini) on the Mesoamerican live oak Quercus oleoides (Fagaceae) and its associated hymenopteran community." Journal of Hymenoptera Research 99: 77-99.
    • Uses Gallformers as a reference for host associations on oaks.
  • Ward, Anna K. G., et al. (2022). "The arthropod associates of 155 North American cynipid oak galls." Zoological Studies 61: e57.
    • Uses Gallformers undescribed gall codes to facilitate phylogenetic and evolutionary study of undescribed inducers.
  • Amar, Orreal, Carter Keyworth, and Nicole Schriber (2025). "Gall density and species richness on two sympatric live oak species in Southern California montane habitat." CEC Research 9(1). doi:10.21973/N3595V
    • Cites Gallformers as an authority on gall occurrence patterns by host.

Photos, notes, and identifications

  • Nastasi, Louis F., and Charles K. Davis (2022). Field guide to the herb and bramble gall wasps of North America, 1st ed. Frost Entomological Museum, Department of Entomology, The Pennsylvania State University. doi:10.26207/rn61-fk81
    • A guide by two Gallformers contributors, fleshed out with photos and specimens sourced in part from our community. Freely available under a CC BY-NC-SA license.
  • Pujade-Villar, Juli, George Melika, and Víctor Cuesta-Porta (2025). "Structure and function of oak gall wasps." In Plant Galls: Structure and Functions, 313-347. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.
    • Illustrated with photographs from Gallformers and our contributors.
  • Castillejos-Lemus, Dohuglas Eliseo, et al. (2025). "Phylogenomic insights and geographic distribution of the New World genus Amphibolips Reinhard (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae, Cynipini) using ultraconserved elements." Systematic Entomology 50(2): 349-368.
  • Guiguet, Antoine, et al. (2023). "Comparative anatomy of venom glands suggests a role of maternal secretions in gall induction by cynipid wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae)." Insect Systematics and Diversity 7(5): 3.
    • Cites Gallformers as a reference for occurrence patterns and identification.
  • Engel, Liam, et al. (2026). "Native trees increase insect biodiversity in New York City across space and time." Preprint, posted 12 May 2026. doi:10.22541/authorea.15003210/v1
    • Credits Gallformers and its contributors as identification resources.
  • Gagné, R. (2026). The Plant-Feeding Gall Midges of North America (2nd ed., pp. 1-468). Zenodo. doi:10.5281/zenodo.21376229
    • The second edition credits Gallformers in its acknowledgements and links to several keys and undescribed gall pages.
  • Pearse, I. S., L. Samuels, G. Ribicoff, J. Jaime-Rivera, and A. L. Hipp (2025). "Gall watching is the new bird watching." American Entomologist 71(1): 32-35.
    • Written by friends of Gallformers, making the case for gall watching to a wider audience.

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