Diplolepididae is a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

of small gall-inducing wasps. Until recently these wasps were included in the gall wasp family (Cynipidae) but were moved to their own family based on genetic and morphological features. It contains two

subfamilies In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zool ...

: Diplolepidinae and Pediaspidinae. Diplolepidinae includes about 60 species in two

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

( ''Diplolepis'' and '' Liebelia''), all of which induce

gall Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to benign tumors or war ...

s on

rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

s in which the larvae live and feed. This subfamily was formerly included in Cynipidae as the tribe Diplolepidini. Pediaspidinae is composed of two

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genera: '' Himalocynips'' and '' Pediaspis''. The biology of this subfamily is poorly known, though '' Pediaspis aceris'' induces galls on a species of

maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

. This subfamily was formerly included in Cynipidae as the tribe Pediaspini.

References

Hymenoptera families Cynipoidea Gall-inducing insects {{Apocrita-stub