Feron comatum (Weld, 1952) Cuesta-Porta & Melika & Nicholls & Stone & Pujade-Villar, 2023

Cuesta-Porta, Victor, Melika, George, Nicholls, James A., Stone, Graham N. & Pujade-Villar, Juli, 2023, Re-establishment of the Nearctic oak cynipid gall wasp genus Feron Kinsey, 1937 (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini), including the description of six new species, Zootaxa 5366 (1), pp. 1-174 : 49-51

Feron comatum (Weld, 1952) , comb. nov.

Figs 116–123

Liodora comata Weld, 1952b: 325 , female, male, gall.

Andricus comata (Weld) : Melika & Abrahamson 2002: 162. Type material. HOLOTYPE: Sexual female USNM No. 60112, PARATYPES (6 females) at the USNM . Specimen data and images available at http://n 2t.net/ark:/65665/3d8f99bbb-ffa6-4c06-a237-1da4ed776fc3. Paratypes are deposited also in AMNH, CMNH, ANSP, CAS and MCZ .

Diagnosis. Sexual females are similar to F. apiarium (asex), F. kingi (sex) and F. pattersonae (sex) and are characterised by a black body, frons is flat, not or only slightly bulging in frontal view, inner margins of eyes never strongly converging ventrally, the mesoscutum is smooth, glabrous or partially alutaceous anteriorly; the notaulus is complete reaching the pronotum; the mesopleuron is entirely smooth without transverse striae in central part; the mesoscutellum is uniformly alutaceous with numerous setae on piliferous points. Nevertheless, F. comatum differs from these species in the torulus which is located halfway up the head; scape, pedicel, F1–F2 are yellowish; legs including hind coxa are yellowish and the prominent part of the ventral spine of the hypopygium without setae ventrally. Males are similar to F. kingi and F. pattersonae and are characterised by a black body, ocelli are moderately or not elevated above the frons, notaulus reaching the pronotum and the mesoscutellum is uniformly alutaceous with numerous setae on piliferous points. In F. comatum F1 equal in length to scape+pedicel, slightly broadened and curved, flagellomeres lighter than scape and pedicel (F1 longer than scape+pedicel, straight not broadened and curved, flagellomeres, scape and pedicel uniformly coloured in F. kingi and F. pattersonae ).

Re-description. After Weld (1952b), with modifications.

Sexual female ( Figs 116–121 ). Body black; mandibles, palpi, base of antenna and legs yellowish-white. Head transverse in dorsal view, as broad as mesosoma; gena not broadened behind eye, broader than high in frontal view; inner margins of eyes converging ventrally; length of malar space around 3.0× shorter than height of eye, malar sulcus absent. Antenna with 12 flagellomeres, F1 shorter than scape+pedicel and shorter than F2+F3. Pronotum, mesoscutum, mesopleuron smooth, glabrous, shining. Notaulus narrow, complete. Mesoscutellar foveae smooth, shallow; mesoscutellar disk smooth, punctate and pubescent behind, overhanging propodeum. Lateral propodeal carinae bent slightly outwards. Fore wing pubescent, ciliate on margin; radial cell opened, 5.0× as long as broad, veins brown, areolet small. Tarsal claws toothed, with strong basal lobe. Metasoma as high as long, all terga smooth, visible on dorsal margin. Prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium stout, 2.0× as long as broad in ventral view, without setae.

Body length 1.45–2.15 mm (n = 6) ( Weld 1952b).

Male. Like the female, head broader than mesosoma. Antennae with 13 flagellomeres, F1 equal in length to scape+pedicel, 1.45× as long as F2, slightly excavated and curved, lighter than scape and pedicel. Metasoma with short petiole. Body length 1.45–1.8 mm.

Gall ( Figs 122–123 ). Conical, 3.0 by 1.4 mm, tan when mature, thin walled, covered with crinkly white matted hairs. Produced singly at edge of leaf. The gall is difficult to distinguish from the sexual galls of F. crystallinum , F. dumosae and F. kingi , although this species has an eastern distribution rather than Pacific slope (but see also diagnosis to species above).

Biology. Only the sexual generation is known, inducing galls on Q. alba (section Quercus , subsection Albae ). Galls mature in early spring; adults emerge in late April–May.

Distribution. USA: VA ( Weld 1952b).

Figures

FIGURES 116–120. Feron comatum, comb. nov., sexual female. 116, antenna, head, mesosoma, dorsal view, 117, habitus, lateral view, 118, head and mesosoma, dorsal view, 119, head and meosoma, lateral view, 120, mesoscutellum and propodeum, dorsal view. Pictures taken from the holotype deposited at the USNM by M. Buffington.

FIGURES 121–123. Feron comatum, comb. nov., sexual generation. 121, head, frontal view. Picture taken from the holotype deposited at the USNM by M. Buffington. 122, designated “type” galls, picture by M. Buffington. 123, gall (image courtesy J. Gross).