Ceroptres montensis Weld, 1957

Lobato-Vila, Irene & Pujade-Villar, Juli, 2019, Revision of world Ceroptresini (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) with the description of a new genus and five new species, Zootaxa 4685 (1), pp. 1-67 : 41-42

Ceroptres montensis Weld, 1957

( Figures 4d ; 7e, f )

Ceroptres montensis Weld, 1957 . Proc. U. S. Natl. Mus. 107(3384): 108. Type material: USNM (holotype), paratypes in USNM, AMNH, ANSP, CAS, CU, FMNH and MCZ .

Type material (examined). HOLOTYPE (♀) with the following labels: ‘ Tahoe City , Cal., Mar. 17’ (grey label) / ‘vaccinifolia’ (grey label) / ‘1622’ (white label, handwritten) / ‘ Type No 63005 U.S. N.M.’ (red label) / ‘ Ceroptres montensis Weld’ (white label with a black frame, handwritten) / ‘USNMENT 00802202’ (white label, QR code) / ‘ Holotype ♀ Ceroptres montensis Weld, 1957 ’ (red label). PARATYPES (3♂ & 2♀) deposited in USNM with the following labels: ‘Tahoe City, Cal., Mar. 19’ (grey label) / ‘vaccinifolia’ (grey label) / ‘1622’ (white label, handwritten) / ‘ Paratype No 63005 U.S. N.M.’ (red label) / ‘USNMENT 00892539’ (white label, QR code) / ‘ Paratype Ceroptres montensis Weld, 1957 ’ (red label).

Diagnosis. This species can be separated from the rest of Ceroptres by having scape, pedicel, F1 and F2 yellow, and the rest of segments dark brown (more or less uniformly colored in the rest of species, except in Ceroptres nigricrus sp. nov., see below); mesoscutum weakly imbricated and micropunctate (with a different sculpture in the rest of species); scutellar foveae almost inconspicuous (usually shallow, but always visible, in the rest of species); and radial cell of forewings short, about 2.3 times as long as wide (longer in the rest of species).

Redescription. Female. Length. Body length 2.0–3.0 mm (n=3).

Color ( Figs 4d ; 7e, f ). Black. Head and mesosoma black; tegulae yellow. Scape, pedicel, F1 and F2 yellow; the rest of segments, dark brown. Legs yellow, basal half of metacoxae black. Metasoma black. Wings hyaline, veins brownish yellow.

Head. In anterior view ( Fig. 4d ) trapezoid-shaped, about 1.3 times as wide as high, genae not expanded behind compound eyes. Face with moderately long but no dense pubescence, lower face with short striae radiating from sides of clypeus, not reaching the toruli; medially without striae; vertical carinae weak and incomplete, short, running just a little from inner ventral margin of the toruli and delimiting a small depressed area. Clypeus distinct, basal margin not projected over mandibles. Malar space about 0.4 times as long as height of compound eye. Anterior tentorial pits visible; pleurostomal sulcus absent, epistomal sulcus slightly impressed. Transfacial line about 0.9 times as long as height of compound eye. Toruli situated slightly below mid-height of compound eye; distance between torulus and compound eye shorter than diameter of the toruli; distance between the toruli clearly shorter than diameter of the toruli. Front finely coriaceous to alutaceous, with some scarce small piliferous punctures; without frontal carinae. Head in dorsal view is about 2.1 times as wide as long. Vertex finely coriaceous to alutaceous, with some scarce small piliferous punctures. POL:OOL:LOL = 14:8:6 and diameter of lateral ocelli, 6. Occiput finely coriaceous to alutaceous, without punctures.

Antennae ( Fig. 7e ). 13-segmented; filiform, not broadened apically; pubescence dense and short. Scape plus pedicel slightly longer than F1; pedicel about as long as wide; F1 about as long as F2, F2 and F3 subequal, the following segments progressively shorter. Last flagellar segment 3.1 times as long as wide and almost 2.0 times as long as F10.

Mesosoma. About 1.2 times as long as high in lateral view ( Fig. 7e ), including nucha, with short and not dense pubescence. Ratio of length of pronotum medially/laterally: 0.34. Dorsal part of pronotal plate complete, with two distinct foveae. Lateral pronotum finely imbricated, without lateral carina. Mesoscutum ( Fig. 7f ) 1.2 times as wide as long, weakly imbricated and micropunctate; anterior grooves weakly impressed, extending 1/3 of the mesoscutal length. Notauli incomplete, reaching the half of the mesoscutum, narrow and shallow. Parapsidal grooves weakly impressed, surpassing tegulae. Median groove reaching the half of the mesoscutum, shallow. Mesoscutellum ( Fig. 7f ) slightly wider than long, very weakly wrinkled; circumscutellar carina absent; scutellar foveae almost inconspicuous, not well defined posteriorly and separated by a narrow carina. Mesopleuron ( Fig. 7e ) smooth and shiny; little pubescent basally. Metapleural sulcus not well defined, reaching about 3/4 parts of mesopleural height. Propodeum pubescent and weakly sculptured; propodeal carinae not well defined. Nucha weakly sculptured dorsally and laterally, not sulcate.

Legs. Tarsal claws bidentate, with a very small basal lobe.

Wings ( Fig. 7e ). Forewings pubescent with short marginal setae, about as long as total body length. Radial cell closed, about 2.3 times as long as wide; areolet visible, small. Rs+M inconspicuous. Basal cell with sparsely spaced setae.

Metasoma ( Fig. 7e ). About as long as head plus mesosoma and slightly higher than long in lateral view. First metasomal tergum crescent-shaped and smooth. Second metasomal tergum short and free, 0.4 times as long as the metasomal length and with a dense hair patch anterolaterally. Third metasomal tergum without punctures and not dorsodistally incised. Subsequent terga and hypopygium, punctate. Hypopygium long and slightly projected above the upper surface of the metasoma. Prominent part of the hypopygial spine about 1.5 times as long as wide.

Male. Similar to female, except for the following morphological traits: body length 1.8–2.4 mm (n=3). Antennae with 15 segments; F1 slightly shorter than F2 and not excavated. Metasoma clearly shorter than head plus mesosoma.

Distribution. USA. States of California and Oregon ( Weld 1957).

Biology. Reared from stem galls of Andricus reniformis McCracken & Egbert, 1922 on Quercus vaccinifolia Kell. ( Protobalanus section), and from stem galls of Disholcaspis truckeensis ( Ashmead, 1896) on Q. chrysolepis Liebm. ( Protobalanus section) ( Weld 1957).

Remarks. Ceroptres montensis was originally described from 65 specimens ( Weld 1957: 108, 109). We examined 3♂ and 3♀ deposited in USNM, including the holotype.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Female faces of valid species of Ceroptres: a) C. kovalevi (type), discontinuous lines point out vertical carinae; b) C. lanigerae (type); c) C. minutissimi (type); d) C. montensis (type); e) C. petiolicola (type); f) C. pisum (type); g) C. quercusobtusilobae (type); h) C. rufiventris (type); i) C. snellingi (type).

FIGURE 7. a) Ceroptres lanigerae lateral and b) dorsal habitus (type); c) C. minutissimi lateral and d) dorsal habitus (type); e) C. montensis lateral and f) dorsal habitus (type); g) C. petiolicola lateral habitus, h) forewing and i) detail of mesoscutuellum and propodeum (type).