Gall-inducing insects provide insights into plant systematic relationships

Field surveys of cynipid gall-inducer occurrences sn Quercus species were conducted in Florida, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, USA. All cynipids demonstrated strong host species and organ fidelity. One result of this specialization is effective niche partitioning among cynipids. The host-association patterns of these specialist herbivores should reflect similarities among oaks, thus we clustered oak species according to their cynipid distributions. Cynipids distinguished small differences among their hosts. A dendrogram of oak species based on cynipid distributions was largely congruent with botanical arrangements. Cynipid occurrences offer information helpful to resolving some aspects of oak systematics. Collaborative efforts between taxonomic botanists and entomologists will be useful in resolving a variety of plant and insect systematic problems.