Aylax minor Hartig, 1840

Pujade-Villar, Juli & Schiopu, Ion, 2015, Species of Aylacini Ashmead, 1903 (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) inducing galls on Papaver L. (Papavaceae) from Romania with description of a new species and notes on parasitoids (Hymenoptera), Zoosystema 37 (3), pp. 505-515 : 507

Aylax minor Hartig, 1840

Aylax minor Hartig, 1840: 196 .

DISTRIBUTION. — Species present in several European countries (Melika 2006) and recently recorded also from Iran ( Melika & Karimpour 2012).

DISTRIBUTION IN ROMANIA. — This is the first record of the species from Romania, collected from the following locations: Comorova forest, 05.VII.1994 ; Hagieni Natural Reserve 11.VII.1994 ; Comana-village 20.VII.1995 ; Fantanita Murfatlar Natural Reserve , 06.VII.1996 ; Negru Voda-forest 30.VI.1997 ; Dumbraveni forest 10.VII.2000 ; Esechioi forest 15.VII.2005 ; Canaraua Fetii- Natural Reserve 20.VII.2010 ; Valu lui Traian-Natural Reserve, 01.VIII.2012. All localities are in Dobrudja Province in South-East of Romania. Host plant species in Romania includes P. rhoeas L. and P. dubium L .

GALLS. — Galls ( Fig. 4C ) irregularly rounded (2-3 mm in diameter), light yellow, forming numerous individual chambers inside capsules of puppies (mainly in P. rhoeas and P. dubium ), attached to septa of the fruit capsule, originated by the transformation of the seeds. Poppy capsules are not deformed externally, so its presence is not visible from outside.

COMMENTS. — Adults are very similar to A. papaveris , the two species can only be recognized based on slight morphological differences,

for this reason Eady & Quinlan (1963) questioned its differences. Aylax minor has notauli indistinct in the anterior ⅓, sometimes a very few impressions is present in anterior ⅓ (complete in A. papaveris ), scutum only coriaceous (coriaceous usually with some weak rugosity in A. papaveris ) and scapus + pedicellum usually lighter than flagellum (uniformly colored A. papaveris ).

LIFE CYCLE. — Galls start to develop in spring, mature in May to June; adults emerge from capsules next spring. The life history of the species has been accurately studied by Folliot (1964).

Figures

FIG. 4. — Galls of: A, Barbotinia oraniensis (Barbotin, 1964); B, Aylax papaveris (Perris, 1840); C, A. minor Hartig, 1840; D, Iraella ionescui n. sp.