Burnettweldia conalis ( Weld, 1926 ) Melika & Pujade-Villar & Nicholls & Cuesta-Porta & Stone, 2021

Melika, George, Pujade-Villar, Juli, Nicholls, James A., Cuesta-Porta, Victor & Stone, Graham N., 2021, Three new Nearctic genera of oak cynipid gall wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini): Burnettweldia Pujade-Villar, Melika & Nicholls, Nichollsiella Melika, Pujade-Villar & Stone, Disholandricus Melika, Pujade-Villar & Nicholls; and re-establishment of the genus Paracraspis Weld, Zootaxa 4993 (1), pp. 1-81 : 18-21

Burnettweldia conalis ( Weld, 1926) , comb. nov.

Figs 43–51 , 92

Disholcaspis conalis Weld, 1926: 37 , female, gall.

Types examined. Holotype female labeled as „ Sequoia Nat. Park . Cal.”, „cut out Dec. 1”, „1655”, „ Disholcaspis conalis Weld ”, red label „ Type 27195 USNM ”, „ Q. garryana ” (http://n 2t.net/ark:/65665/35c692e91-41a7-41eb- 9919-f7c0e6657059). One paratype female (without head and antenna) labelled as „ Sequoia Nat. Park, Cal.”, „cut out Oct. 1.22.”, „1655”, „ Q. garryana ”, red label „ Paratype No. 27195 USNM ”, „ Disholcaspis conalis Weld ”. Both are deposited at the USNM and were examined by GM and CC-McE.

Material examined. No other material was examined.

Diagnosis. Most closely resembles B. plumbella , in both species the entire body, antennae, legs are uniformly reddish brown, the radial cell of the forewing is around 3.0x as long as broad, the parascutal carina conspicuous, the lateral propodeal carina complete, central propodeal area with strong rugae reaching the anterior end of the propodeum and the lateral propodeal area with dense white setae. In B. conalis the median mesoscutal line absent; POL 1.2x as long as OOL; OOL around 1.4x as long as the diameter of the lateral ocellus and the upper part of the metapleural sulcus invisible, while in B. plumbella the median mesoscutal line is distinct, impressed, extending to 1/6 of the mesoscutum length; POL 1.8x as long as OOL; OOL above 2.0x as long as the diameter of the lateral ocellus and the upper part of the metapleural sulcus is distinct.

Description. Asexual female ( Figs 43–51 ). Head reddish brown, with black area around ocelli; mesosoma, antenna, legs reddish brown; metasoma slightly darker.

Head reticulate, with dense white setae, denser on lower face, 2.1x as broad as long in dorsal view; 1.3x as broad as high in frontal view and slightly narrower than mesosoma. Gena reticulate, broadened behind eye, as broad as transverse diameter of eye. Malar space reticulate, without striae and sulcus; eye 2.5x as high as length of malar space. Inner margins of eyes parallel. POL 1.2x as long as OOL; OOL 1.4x as long as diameter of lateral ocellus, slightly longer than LOL; ocelli ovate, all three equal in size. Transfacial distance 1.2x as long as height of eye, 1.6x as long as height of lower face (distance between antennal rim and ventral margin of clypeus); diameter of antennal torulus as broad as distance between them, distance between torulus and eye margin 1.2x as long as diameter of torulus. Lower face reticulate, without striae, with elevated median reticulate area, with dense setae. Clypeus rectangular, flat, broader than high, reticulate, with deep anterior tentorial pits, deep epistomal sulcus and deep clypeopleurostomal line; ventrally rounded, emarginate, not incised medially. Frons and interocellar area reticulate; small triangular area under central ocellus smooth, glabrous. Vertex, occiput uniformly reticulate. Postgena reticulate, with sparse white setae, postocciput around occipital foramen impressed, smooth, glabrous; posterior tentorial pits large, deep, elongate; height of oral foramen shorter than height of postgenal bridge+occipital foramen; occipital foramen as high as height of postgenal bridge; hypostomal carina emarginate, continuing into postgenal sulcus; postgenal sulci bent outwards anteriorly; postgenal bridge smooth, glabrous, diverging anteriorly, broader than width of occipital foramen. Antenna slightly longer than head+ mesosoma, with 13 flagellomeres, pedicel 1.4x as long as broad, F1 longer than scape+pedicel, 1.3x as long as F2, F2 1.4x as long as F3, F3 slightly longer than F4, F5 longer than F6, all subsequent flagellomeres nearly equal in length, F12=F13; placodeal sensilla on F4–F13.

Mesosoma as long as high in lateral view. Pronotum delicately coriaceous, with white setae, without striae laterally, emarginate, foveolate along lateral edge; propleuron delicately coriaceous, with dense white setae. Mesoscutum uniformly reticulate, with dense white setae, especially in anterior half; nearly as long as broad (width measured across base of tegulae). Notaulus incomplete, extending to half the length of mesoscutum or slightly shorter; broadest at most posterior end and gradually narrowing until anterior end, with smooth, glabrous bottom.Anterior parallel line indicated by broad smooth, glabrous stripe, extending to level of tegulae. Parapsidal line indistinctly impressed, indicated by smooth to alutaceous, glabrous narrow stripe, extending to half length of mesoscutum, reaching above tegula; parascutal carina narrow, deep, smooth, glabrous, reaching pronotum. Median mesoscutal line absent. Transscutal articulation deep, distinct. Mesoscutellum nearly as long as broad, shorter than mesoscutum, uniformly coriaceous, with dense white setae, trapezoid; broadest part in posterior 2/3; circumscutellar carina present; slightly overhanging metanotum; mesoscutellar foveae transverse, 2.0x as broad as high, with smooth, glabrous bottom, divided by narrow triangular central elevated carina. Mesopleuron uniformly reticulate, with dense white setae; mesopleural triangle coriaceous, with dense white setae. Metapleural sulcus reaching mesopleuron slightly below half of its height, upper part of sulcus indistinct, hidden by dense white setae; dorsal and lateral axillar areas delicately coriaceous, with dense setae; axillar carina broad, with longitudinal striae; subaxillular bar narrow, smooth, glabrous, triangular, at its most posterior end higher than height of metanotal trough. Metascutellum reticulate, as high as height of smooth, glabrous ventral impressed area; metanotal trough smooth, glabrous, with sparse white setae. Lateral propodeal carinae complete, distinct, bent outwards; central propodeal area smooth, glabrous, with strong rugae reaching to anterior end of propodeum; lateral propodeal area delicately coriaceous, with dense white setae; nucha short, dorsally smooth, glabrous, laterally with longitudinal sulci. Tarsal claws with acute basal lobe.

Forewing longer than body, with pale brown veins, margin with short dense cilia; radial cell 3.0x as long as broad, R1 and Rs not reaching wing margin; areolet triangular, well-delimited by distinct veins; Rs+M distinct on 3/4 of distance between areolet and basalis, its projection reaching basalis at mid-height.

Metasoma slightly longer than head+mesosoma, longer than high in lateral view; second metasomal tergum extending to 2/3 of metasoma length in dorsal view, smooth, glabrous dorsally, puctate posterolaterally to 1/3 of tergum length, with dense white setae and piliferous points; all subsequent terga punctate, with dense white setae; hypopygium punctate, prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium short, as broad as long, with parallel sides; with dense long white setae, reaching far beyond apex of spine and forming a tuft. Body length 4.1 mm (n = 1).

Gall. ( Fig 92 ). Detachable monolocular stem galls, pointed, conical, glabrous, occur singly or in clusters of 2–5. The gall is 12–15 mm high and 8–9 mm wide at the base; sides of the gall are smooth; the base of the gall wraps over the stem; larval chamber centrally positioned in the gall base and perpendicular to the gall vertical axis. The parenchyma tissue is soft, not woody, epidermal layer thin; color of growing galls pale green with white pile which turns reddish; mature galls light brown, old galls dark brown to black, not deciduous ( Burnett 1977, Russo 2006).

Biology. Galls develop in summer; adults emerge in early autumn. Galls on Q. berberidifolia , Q. garryana ( Burks 1979) .

Distribution. USA: California ( Burks 1979); Sierra Nevada Mountains ( Burnett 1977).

Figures

FIGURES 43–47. Burnettweldia conalis, comb. nov., asexual female. 43, head, frontal view. 44, mesosoma, part, anterodorsal view. 45, mesosoma, lateral view. 46, mesosoma and propleura, frontal view. 47, mesosoma, dorsal view.

FIGURES 48–51. Burnettweldia conalis, comb. nov., asexual female. 48, mesosoma, dorsal view. 49, metascutellum and propodeum, posterodorsal view. 50–51, metasoma: 50, ventral view, 51, lateral view.

FIGURES 89–96. Burnettweldia asexual galls. 89–91, B. californicordazi, sp. nov.. 92, B. conalis, comb. nov.. 93, B. corallina, comb. nov.. 94–95, B. plumbella, comb. nov.. 96, B. washingtonensis, comb. nov.. Fig 95 courtesy of J. Gross.