A genus of small parasitic wasps that lay eggs in plant tissues, causing the plant to form swollen growths called galls.
From Greek 'kyon' (dog) combined with uncertain etymology for the second element. Ancient Greeks named them this, though the 'dog' reference's original meaning is lost to history.
Oak galls caused by cynips wasps were so useful to medieval people that they ground them up to make ink for writing manuscripts and important documents—essentially, libraries depended on tiny wasps!
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