Paracraspis Weld, 1952

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 : 64-65

Paracraspis Weld, 1952 , comb. rev.

Figs 196–223

Paracraspis Weld, 1952b: 324 . Three species were moved to this genus when it was first established, two of which were originally described in Acraspis : A. insolens Weld, 1926 , and A. patelloides Weld, 1926 , and one of which, C. guadaloupensis Fullaway, 1911 , was originally described in Callirhytis .

Acraspis Mayr : erroneously synonymized to Acraspis ( Melika & Abrahamson 2002) .

Paracraspis Weld , comb. rev. herein.

Type species. Callirhytis guadaloupensis Fullaway, 1911 . Designated by Weld, 1952b: 324.

Diagnosis. There are a number of Nearctic Cynipini genera which are either wingless or have rudimentary or reduced wings which reach only a little beyond the apex of the metasoma ( Weld 1952a). However, only Paracraspis species have the prominent part of the ventral spine of the hypopygium short, as long as broad, with parallel sides, never needle-like, and with long setae reaching far beyond the apex of the spine.

Phylogenetically it is close to Acraspis , but morphologically it differs by having more developed (although still reduced) forewings and a more robust mesosoma with the mesoscutellum rounded posteriorly ( Weld, 1952b). This genus also resembles Trichoteras Ashmead ; however, in that genus the prominent part of the ventral spine of the hypopygium is longer than broad and needle-like, gradually narrowing until the apex.

We agree with Weld’s (1952b) original delimitation that three species belong to Paracraspis : P. guadaloupensis (Fullaway) , comb. rev., P. insolens (Weld) , comb. rev., and P. patelloides (Trotter) , comb. rev. . Below we provide both a key to the species and re-descriptions of P. insolens and P. patelloides using current morphological criteria and terminology. We were unable to examine material of the first species, but instead highlight relevant characters from the original descriptions of this species’ adults and galls.

Key to Paracraspis species

1. Mesoscutellum dull rugose; mesopleuron rugose; second metasomal tergum encompassing less than to 1/3 of total metasoma length....................................................................... P. guadaloupensis comb. rev.

- Mesoscutellum and mesopleuron delicately coriaceous ( Figs 206–207 , 216–218 ); second metasomal tergum encompassing more than 1/2 of metasomal length ( Figs 206–207 , 221–222 ).................................................. 2

2. Dark brown specimens, with some lighter parts on head and mesosoma; body with very dense white setae hiding the surface sculpture, especially on mesosoma where notaulus is obscured but extending to 2/3 of mesoscutum length; head trapezoid in frontal view ( Fig. 210 ); OOL 1.9x as long as diameter of lateral ocellus ( Fig. 211 ); F2 1.3x as long as F3 ( Fig. 214 )........................................................................................ P. patelloides comb. rev.

- Uniformly brown; body with less dense white setae, surface sculpture under setae clearly visible; head rounded ( Fig. 196 ); notaulus extending to 1/2 of mesoscutum length ( Figs 203–204 ); OOL 2.8x as long as diameter of lateral ocellus ( Fig. 197 ); F2=F3 ( Fig. 200 ).................................................................... P. insolens comb. rev.

Figures

FIGURES 196–201. Paracraspis insolens, comb. rev., asexual female. 196–199, head: 196, frontal view, 197, dorsal view, 198, lateral view, 199, posterior view. 200, antenna. 201, mesosoma and propleura, frontal view.

FIGURES 202–205. Paracraspis insolens, comb. rev., asexual female. 202, mesosoma, lateral view. 203, mesoscutum, dorsal view. 204, mesoscutellum, dorsal view. 205, metascutellum and propodeum, posterodorsal view.

FIGURES 206–207. Paracraspis insolens, comb. rev., asexual female. 206–207, metasoma: 206, lateral view, 207, ventral view.

FIGURES 208–209. Paracraspis asexual galls. 208, P. guadaloupensis, comb. rev.. 209, P. insolens, comb. rev.. Images courtesy of J. Gross.

FIGURES 210–215. Paracraspis patelloides, comb. rev., asexual female. 210–213, head: 210, frontal view, 211, dorsal view, 212, lateral view, 213, posterior view. 214, antenna. 215, mesosoma and propleura, frontal view.

FIGURES 216–219. Paracraspis patelloides, comb. rev., asexual female. 216, mesosoma, lateral view. 217, mesoscutum, dorsal view. 218, mesoscutellum, dorsal view. 219, metascutellum and propodeum, posterodorsal view.

FIGURES 220–222. Paracraspis patelloides, comb. rev., asexual female. 220, forewing. 221–222, metasoma: 221, lateral view, 222, ventral view.

FIGURE 223. Paracraspis patelloides, comb. rev., asexual galls.