Nichollsiella arizonica ( Cockerell, 1902 ) 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 : 35-39

Nichollsiella arizonica ( Cockerell, 1902) , comb. nov.

Figs 97–109

Holcaspis arizonica Cockerell, 1902: 183 , female, gall.

Disholcaspis arizonica (Cockerell) : Dalla Torre & Kieffer 1910: 381.

Adleria arizonica (Cockerell) : Weld 1951: 629.

Disholcaspis arizonicus (Cockerell) : Melika & Abrahamson 2002: 160.

Types examined. Holotype female labeled as „Prescott Ariz”, ”Cockerell Collector”, handwriting label „ Holcaspis arizonicus Crkl. Type”, red label „Type No 14812 USNM ”, deposited in the USNM (http://n 2t.net/ark:/65665/ 31300221e-98e6-422c-aa18-616e30347fd6), examined by GM.

Material examined. One female labeled as „ Canuh Creek , Ariz.”, „ Q. pungens ”, „ Beut. coll. rec’d 1935”, „ Adleria arizonica ”. One female labeled as „ USA, Arizona, 25 miles S of Flagstaff on I17, Q. turbinella, AZ 689, leg. J. Nicholls , 2007.10.31 ” .

Diagnosis. Most closely resembles N. sulcata . In both species the head is rounded in frontal view, the gena only slightly or not broadened behind eye in frontal view and narrower than transverse diameter of the eye in lateral view. However, in N. arizonica the mesoscutum has punctures and scattered setae, the metascutellum with delicate longitudinal parallel rugae, the lateral propodeal carina incomplete or absent, and the nucha without sulci dorsally while in N. sulcata the mesoscutum and mesoscutellum have dense setae and inconspicuous punctures, the mesoscutum is reticulate, the metascutellum uniformly reticulate, the lateral propodeal carina are complete, and the nucha with sulci dorsally.

Description. Asexual female ( Figs 97–108 ). Head rusty brown in frontal view, dark brown posteriorly; mouthparts, antenna uniformly rusty brown; mesosoma rusty brown with darker propodeum, slightly darker mesoscutellum and dark brown stripes along parapsidal lines; legs uniformly light brown; metasoma rusty brown, metasomal tergum 2 with darker stripe posteriorly.

Head rounded, slightly higher than broad and slightly broader than mesosoma in frontal view, with sparse setae, denser on lower face, postocciput and postgena; 2.0x as broad as long in dorsal view. Gena reticulate, slightly broadened behind eye in frontal view, narrower than transverse diameter of eye in lateral view. Malar space with a few delicate striae radiating from clypeus but not reaching eye, malar sulcus absent; eye 2.5x as high as length of malar space. Inner margins of eyes parallel. POL 2.2x as long as OOL, OOL slightly longer than diameter of lateral ocellus and slightly shorter than LOL, all ocelli ovate, of same size. Transfacial distance subequal to height of eye; toruli located above mid-height of head, frons shorter than height of lower face, diameter of antennal torulus 2.0x as long as distance between them, distance between torulus and eye as great as diameter of torulus; lower face delicately coriaceous, with dense white setae; slightly elevated median area delicately coriaceous, glabrous, with few setae. Clypeus quandrangular, from above as broad as high, smooth, glabrous, with few long setae; ventrally rounded, not emarginate and without median incision; anterior tentorial pit rounded, distinct, epistomal sulcus distinct, clypeo-pleurostomal line well impressed. Frons reticulate, without striae and setae, area between toruli and eye reticulate; interocellar area coriaceous. Vertex and occiput alutaceous, glabrous, with white long setae; postocciput and postgena alutaceous to reticulate, glabrous; posterior tentorial pit large, elongated, area below impressed; oral foramen slightly shorter than height of postgenal bridge+occipital foramen; occipital foramen slightly higher than height of postgenal bridge; hypostomal carina emarginate, continuing into postgenal sulcus; postgenal sulci bent outwards anteriorly; postgenal bridge smooth, glabrous, anteriorly diverging, as broad as width of occipital foramen. Antenna slightly longer than head+mesosoma, with 13 flagellomeres, pedicel longer than broad; F1 1.2x as long as scape+pedicel and 1.4x as long as F2; F2 slightly longer than F3; F3 1.2x as long as F4, F5=F6, F7 to F12 equal in length; F13 1.5x as long as F12; placodeal sensilla on F4–F13.

Mesosoma longer than high, with a few white setae, setae denser along propleura and on lateral propodeal area. Pronotum smooth, glabrous or alutaceous with delicate parallel striae only in dorso-posterior quarter and with dense setae laterally; propleuron smooth, glabrous, without setae. Mesoscutum smooth, glabrous or alutaceous, with sparse white setae and large distinct deep punctures, denser in anterior half and especially between anterior parallel lines; longer than broad (greatest width measured across mesoscutum level with base of tegulae). Notauli incomplete, absent in the anterior 1/4 of mesoscutum, deep, with smooth, glabrous bottom, converging posteriorly; in most posterior section the distance between notauli less than the distance between notaulus and side of mesoscutum; anterior parallel line distinct, in the form of an elevated narrow glabrous stripe, extending to 1/3 of mesoscutum length; parapsidal line marked with narrow smooth sulcus, impressed line extending above tegula; median mesoscutal line absent; parascutal carina distinct, narrow, reaching pronotum. Mesoscutellum slightly longer than broad, rounded; slightly broadened in posterior part; disk of mesoscutellum uniformly rugose, with a few stronger irregular rugae in posterior 1/3, overhanging metanotum, with sparse long setae posteriorly. Mesoscutellar foveae transverse, at least 2.0x as broad as high, with smooth, glabrous bottom, with narrow, slightly elevated central carina. Mesopleuron reticulate to alutaceous, with dense setae; speculum smooth, glabrous with scattered setae; mesopleural triangle smooth, glabrous, with sparse setae; dorsal and lateral axillar areas smooth to delicately coriaceous, with dense white setae; metapleural sulcus reaching mesopleuron around its mid-height; upper part of sulcus indistinct. Metascutellum glabrous, with parallel rugae, reticulate, taller than height of smooth, glabrous ventral impressed area; metanotal trough smooth, glabrous, without or with a few setae; central propodeal area lyre-shaped, smooth, glabrous, without rugae; lateral propodeal carinae incomplete or absent; lateral propodeal area smooth, glabrous, with long dense white setae. Nucha smooth, glabrous dorsally, with irregular rugae laterally. Tarsal claws with basal lobe.

Forewing longer than body, hyaline, with very short dense cilia on margin, veins brown, radial cell opened, 4.1x as long as broad; Rs and R1 reaching wing margin; areolet triangular, small, closed, indistinct. Rs+M distinct, nearly reaching basalis, its projection reaching basalis at half of its height.

Metasoma as long as head+mesosoma, shorter than high in lateral view; metasoma dorsally broad; second metasomal tergum extending to 3/4 length of metasoma in dorsal view, laterally with white dense setae, glabrous dorsally, reticulate in posterior 1/3 of tergum with a few weak carinae dorsolaterally; all subsequent terga uniformly reticulate, with dense white setae. Hypopygium reticulate, prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium slightly longer than broad, with parallel sides, white long setae extending beyond apex of spine, forming a tuft. Body length 3.6 mm (n = 1).

Gall. ( Fig 109 ). Detachable leaf galls. Similar to the gall of N. sulcata ( Cockerell 1902, Weld 1960). Galls are globular, 9 mm in diameter, pale ochreous to green, not shiny, attached to the base of the petiole of a leaf with a projecting point next to the place of insertion. The gall is brown inside, spongy, moderately dense, with at least two larval cells ( Cockerell 1902).

Biology. Only the asexual generation is known. Galls on Q. arizonica and Q. turbinella ; adults emerge in April ( Cockerell 1902; authors).

Distribution. USA: Arizona ( Burks 1979; authors).

Figures

FIGURES 97–102. Nichollsiella arizonica, comb. nov., asexual female. 97–100, head: 97, frontal view, 98, dorsal view, 99, lateral view, 100, posterior view. 101, antenna. 102, mesosoma and propleura, frontal view.

FIGURES 103–106. Nichollsiella arizonica, comb. nov., asexual female. 103, mesosoma, lateral view. 104, mesoscutum, dorsal view. 105, mesoscutellum, dorsal view. 106, metascutellum and propodeum, posterodorsal view.

FIGURES 107–109. Nichollsiella arizonica, comb. nov., asexual female. 107–108, metasoma: 107, lateral view, 108, dorsal view, part. 109, asexual galls.