Cynips polita, n. sp.

Galls round, monothalamous, found abundantly in midsummer on both surfaces of the leaves of Quercus obtusiloba [stellata], at or near the summit of young and thrifty shoots, from one to fifteen or twenty on a single leaf. They are from one-fourth to three-fourths of an inch in diameter, and are when grown in the shade of a paler green than the leaf, but when exposed to the sun are red or brown. They are attached so slightly to the mid- vein and its branches that their removal leaves little if any trace. The shell is when dry extremely thin and brittle, and the single round larval cell is kept in a central position by fine radiating and branching fibres that extend to the outside shell. These galls resemble, except in their mode of attachment to the leaf, those of C. singularis B., but the insects differ considerably. They are also somewhat like those of C. inanis Harris, but are many times smaller. The insects are fully mature in October, but remain in the galls over winter. I received my specimens of this species from Mr. E. Potts, of Philadelphia, and from Mr. Thomas Annadown, of Glassboro, N. J., and Mr. P. H. Uhler informs me that they are very abundant in southern New Jersey and in some parts of Maryland. The shining and finely polished thorax and abdomen suggest the specific name given to the insect.

- HF Bassett: (1881) New Cynipidae (1881)^©

Reference: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/22092#page/109/mode/1up