1. 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

2. Cynipidae
• Parasitic Hymenoptera
• High host specificity
• Gall morphology is often
species specific

3. Cynipid Galls
1 Photos by Joyce Gross, calphotos.berkeley.edu 2 Photo by Milan Zubrik, forestryimages.org
3 Photo by Peter Bryant, bathistoc.bio.edu 4 Photo by Graham Calow, naturespot.org.uk
5 Photo by Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State Univ. 6 Photo by Gerald Lenhard, forestryimages.org
1 1 1 2
1 1 1 3
4 5 6

4. Why Curate Galls?
• Extended phenotype
– Morphological diversity is often
greater in galls than the wasps
Top photo from
Cals.ncsu.edu

5. Why Curate Galls?
• Diagnosis

6. 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

7. The Good
Traditional Practices
Top (both) and bottom right photos
from CP Gillette Museum, CSU

8. The Bad
Traditional Practices

9. The Ugly
Traditional Practices

10. Problems
• Damage to insect specimens and galls

11. Problems
• Lost type galls

12. Problems
• Visibility

13. New Methods – Clear Boxes

14. New Methods – Clear Boxes

15. New Methods – Clear Envelopes
* Not that new but trying to increase usage

16. New Methods – Candy Trays

17. Can cause space issues

18. Electronic Curation - Gigapan

19. 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?

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

21. 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