Innovations and Challenges in Cynipid Gall Curation

Crystal McEwen University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland

and Matthew Buffington

Systematic Entomology Lab, USDA c/o Smithsonian NMNH

Cynipidae

• Parasitic Hymenoptera• High host specificity• Gall morphology is often

species specific

Cynipid Galls

1 Photos by Joyce Gross, calphotos.berkeley.edu 2 Photo by Milan Zubrik, forestryimages.org3 Photo by Peter Bryant, bathistoc.bio.edu 4 Photo by Graham Calow, naturespot.org.uk5 Photo by Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State Univ. 6 Photo by Gerald Lenhard, forestryimages.org

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Why Curate Galls?

• Extended phenotype – Morphological diversity is often

greater in galls than the wasps

Top photo from Cals.ncsu.edu

Why Curate Galls?

• Diagnosis

USNM Collection

• Last cynipid-specific curator died in 1964

• Roughly 114 drawers • Traditional methods– The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly– Limitations and problems

• New methods• New problems and questions

The GoodTraditional Practices

Top (both) and bottom right photos from CP Gillette Museum, CSU

The BadTraditional Practices

The UglyTraditional Practices

Problems

• Damage to insect specimens and galls

Problems

• Lost type galls

Problems

• Visibility

New Methods – Clear Boxes

New Methods – Clear Boxes

New Methods – Clear Envelopes

* Not that new but trying to increase usage

New Methods – Candy Trays

Can cause space issues

Electronic Curation - Gigapan

New Problems and Questions• What is the status of galls? Type galls?– How do polythalamus galls affect this?– What do we consider galls that don’t have a

corresponding wasp?• What are our options for barcoding? • What do we do with huge galls?

Extra Notes and Treasures• Hand writing• Vials of nectar• “Pieces of history”

Thank you

Acknowledgments: Systematic Entomology Lab (USDA-ARS) for funding this project. Thanks are given to Ray Gagne (SEL Emeritus) and Boris Kondratieff (CP Gillette Museum, Colorado State University) for their assistance, and Smithsonian Combined Entomology for additional support.

Top photo by Whitney Cranshaw