''Ufo'' is a genus of

gall wasp Gall wasps, also traditionally called gallflies, are hymenopterans of the family Cynipidae in the wasp superfamily Cynipoidea. Their common name comes from the galls they induce on plants for larval development. About 1,300 species of this gene ...

s in the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

Synergini Synergini is a tribe (biology), tribe of gall wasps in the subfamily Cynipinae. Genera The following genera are generally accepted within Synergini: * ''Agastoroxenia'' * ''Lithosaphonecrus'' * ''Saphonecrus'' * ''Rhoophilus'' * ''Synergus ...

, first discovered in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

.Melika G, Ros-Farré P, Pénzes Z, Ács Z, Pujade-Villar J 2005
Ufo abei Melika et Pujade-Villar (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Synergini) new genus and new species from Japan.

Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae ''Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae'' is a peer-reviewed, open access scientific journal no-publication fee, publishing original research studies in the fields of animal taxonomy, systematics, biogeography, and ecology. It was estab ...

51 (4), 313–327. Its genus name ''Ufo'' comes from the common phrase "

unidentified flying object An unidentified flying object (UFO) is an object or phenomenon seen in the sky but not yet identified or explained. The term was coined when United States Air Force (USAF) investigations into flying saucers found too broad a range of shapes ...

", in this case applied because the researchers did not know what the wasp was when they first saw it.

Genera

Four species are currently classified within ''Ufo''.Melika, George & Tang, Chang-Ti & Yang, Man-Miao & Bihari, Péter & Bozsó, Miklós & Pénzes, Zsolt & Yang, Miao. (2012)
New species of cynipid inquilines of the genus Ufo Melika & Pujade-Villar, 2005 (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Synergini)
Zootaxa. 3478. 143-163. *'' U. abei'' (Melika et al. 2005) *'' U. cerroneuroteri'' (Melika et al. 2012) *'' U. koreanus'' (Melika et al. 2007) *'' U. nipponicus'' (Melika et al. 2012) '' Saphonecrus shirakashii'' and '' S. shirokashicola'' were formerly placed in ''Ufo'', but further research indicated they were better placed in '' Saphonecrus''.

References

Cynipidae Hymenoptera genera {{Wasp-stub