Andricus megalucidus, Melika & Stone & Sadeghi & Pujade-Villar, 2004

Melika, G., Stone, G. N., Sadeghi, S. E. & Pujade-Villar, J., 2004, New Species Of Cynipid Gall Wasps From Iran And Turkey (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini), Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 50 (2), pp. 139-151 : 141-145

Andricus megalucidus sp. n.

( Figs 1–7 , 13 )

Description – Asexual (parthenogenetic) female: Head and mesosoma black; metasoma dorsally black, laterally brown; mandibles brown, antenna dark brown to black; fore legs uniformly brown, mid- and hind coxae, femur, tibiae dark brown to partially black, mid- and hind tarsus brown, fore legs entirely brown; ventral spine of hypopygium light brown. Head from above as broad as mesosoma or very slightly broader, 1.45–1.5 times as broad as high in front view ( Fig. 1 ); POD 1.36 times as long as OOD; LOD 0.4 times as long as POD and 0.55 times as long as OOD ( Fig. 2 ); transfacial distance 1.85–1.9 times as long as height of lower face (distance between antennal rim and tip of clypeus); distance between antennal rims 3.25 times as short as distance between antennal rim and inner margin of compound eye ( Fig. 1 ); gena strongly broadened behind eye, equal or slightly broader than diameter of compound eye, measuring along transfacial line; malar space without sulcus, 2.2 times as short as height of compound eye; tintorial pits small, line between them slightly impressed and, thus distinctly separating the clypeus from lower face, which is shiny, finely uniformly coriaceous, slightly emarginated distally. Head uniformly dull rugose, malar space and lower face with irradiating strong rugae, reaching compound eyes and antennal sockets; occiput behind rounded, with strong rugae; entire head uniformly covered with dense long setae. Postocciput impressed, shiny, smooth; posterior tentorial pits shallow, shiny, smooth, elongated, reaching occipital foramen; gula 1.6 times as high as broad, lower part narrowed down to hypostomal carina, which is strong, emarginated ( Fig. 3 ). Antenna 13-segmented, however in some specimens there is a very indistinct incomplete suture between F11 and F12, indicating that the antenna may be 14-segmented; ratio of scapus, pedicell and subsequent flagellomeres next: 1.05:0.53:1.0:0.82:0.75:0.70:0.67:0.62: 0.55:0.50:0.44:0.44:0.76 (if one considers antenna to be 13-segmented, with an indistinct suture between F11 and F12, then F10:F11:F12 = 0.44:0.40:0.36) ( Fig. 4 ). Mesosoma 1.2 times as long as high; with uniform dense white setae; pronotum, scutum, scutellum, and mesopleuron with uniform dull rugose sculpture; scutum+scutellum 1.56 times as long as broad in dorsal view. Scutum subequal, nearly as long as broad in dorsal view; notauli complete, deeply impressed and broad, reaching the pronotum; anterior parallel lines distinct and reach 1/3 length of scutum; parapsidal lines distinct and broad, starting from posterior margin and reaching 2/3 length of scutum; median scutellar line only weakly impressed, indistinct in between dull rugose sculpture of scutum ( Fig. 6 ). Scutellum rounded, as broad as long in dorsal view, overhanging metanotum, with stronger rugae than sculpture of scutum; scutellar foveae large, ovate, with shiny smooth bottom, separated by a thin but distinct central carina ( Fig. 6 ). Fore wing 1.25–1.45 times as long as body; hyaline, setae short, margin with very short indistinct cilia; veins distinct, dark brown, areolet present; radial cell open, 3.5 times as long as broad ( Fig. 5 ). Legs with dense white setae, fore legs uniformly brown, mid- and hind coxae, femora, tibiae dark brown to partially black, mid- and hind tarsi brown. Propodeum with uniformly thick, nearly parallel lateral carinae, only very slightly bent outwards distally, central area shiny smooth, with a few interrupted transverse thin rugae distally, propodeum aside central area with uniform dense white setae; ventral impressed area of metanotum smooth, shiny, without rugae or carinae ( Fig. 13 ). Metasoma black dorsally, dark brown laterally, with lateral patch of dense white setae on 1st tergite which is smooth and shiny, subsequent tergites finely minutely uniformly punctured; 1st tergite, measured dorsally1.6–1.65 times shorter than scutum+scutellum; ventral spine of hypopygium slender, long, 6.8–8.0 times as long as broad, with few short white setae ( Fig. 7 ). Length 4.2–5.1 mm.

eral view

Type material – Holotype female: Turkey, Tefenni, leg. G. N. Stone, 1998. 15 female paratypes: 5 with the same label as the holotype, 1 female labelled as “ Turkey, Egirdir 4, c98, c 99 9w, leg. G. N. Stone ” and 9 females labelled as “ Iran, Lorestan, Zagros Mnt., 1993–94, leg. E. Sadeghi; ex. Q. infectoria , bud gall (Code 34), em. 02.1993”.

Holotype, 2 female paratypes and galls in the Natural History Museum (British Museum) ( NHML), 9 female paratypes in the cynipid collection of Systematic Parasitoid Laboratory, Plant Protection and Soil Conservation Service of County Vas ( SPL), Kőszeg, Hungary, 2 female paratypes in the Hungarian Natural History Museum ( HNHM), Budapest, Hungary and 2 female paratypes in the collection of the Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands , Tehran, Iran.

Material examined – 13 asexual females in the collection of University of Barcelona, labelled as “Greece-Corfu, Umg. Barbati, em. data, leg. E. Kwast”, “coll. 8.10.1997 ”, “emerged 21.02 – 09.03.1998 ”, “ Andricus nr. lucidus (Hartig, 1843) J. P-V 2001 det”.

Etymology — The species name megalucidus reflects the close similarity of the adult and asexual generation gall of this species to Andricus lucidus , and the larger size of the gall.

Diagnosis – Andricus megalucidus sp. n. is very closely related to A. lucidus (HARTIG, 1843) ( Figs 8–12 ), which is a very common and widespread oak gallwasp species in Europe ( DALLA TORRE & KIEFFER 1910, MELIKA et al. 2000). The gall was mentioned recently in PUJADE-VILLAR et al. (2002) as Andricus nr. lucidus .

Andricus megalucidus occiput behind is rounded, with strong rugae; the postocciput is impressed, shiny, smooth; posterior tentorial pits of the head are shallow, shiny, smooth, elongated, reaching the occipital foramen; the gula 1.6 times as high as broad, its lower part narrowed down to the hypostomal carina, which is strong and emarginated ( Fig. 3 ); the pedicel is longer ( Fig. 4 ); the fore wing margin with shorter cilia, the radial cell 3.5 times as long as broad ( Fig. 5 ); the ventral impressed area of the metanotum is smooth, shiny, without rugae or carinae ( Fig. 13 ); the 1st tergite, measured dorsally1.6–1.65 times shorter than the scutum+scutellum combined ( Fig. 7 ).

Andricus lucidus ( Figs 8–12 ) occiput behind is less rounded, with indistinct carinae, the postocciput is much less impressed, posterior tentorial pits are deep, rounded, shiny, smooth; the gula only very slightly higher than broad, subequal, much less narrowed towards the hypostomal carina ( Fig. 9 ); the pedicel is shorter ( Fig. 10 ); the fore wing margin with longer cilia, the radial cell 4.3 times as long as broad ( Fig. 11 ); the ventral impressed area of the metanotum with 2–3 thin transverse carinae, in front of which the surface with short distinct rugae ( Fig. 12 ); the 1st tergite, measured dorsally1.2–1.4 times shorter than scutum+scutellum combined.

All specimens of A. megalucidus we have examined are more robust, the body is 4.2–5.1 mm long while females of A. lucidus are usually smaller (3.5–4.5 mm).

Gall structure and location – The gall is induced on lateral or terminal shoot buds ( Fig. 14 ). The gall of the closely related Andricus lucidus is occasionally also induced on acorns, and the same may be true for A. megalucidus . The gall when mature reaches 50–60 mm in diameter, and is covered with a close coating of flattened and curved spines up to 10 mm long ( Fig. 14 ). The gall of Andricus lucidus is smaller reaching up to 30 mm in diameter, with straight spines up to 6 mm long that are not flattened, and end in a small knob. The gall of A. megalucidus is multilocular, with a single gall so far yielding 50 individuals.

asexual female, metanotum and propodeum, dorsal view

Biology – Only the parthenogenetic females of Andricus megalucidus are known. It is probable that, like Andricus lucidus , this species has a cryptic sexual generation ( ATKINSON et al. 2002), probably on cerris -group oaks. The asexual generation gall has been collected from Quercus infectoria in Turkey and Iran, and from Q. pubescens in Greece. Adult wasps emerged in February from galls collected in Iran the previous October, and in late February – beginning of March from galls collected in Greece.

Comments – CHODJAI (1980) in his faunistic review of oak gallwasps of Iran mentioned Andricus lucidus as a common widespread species. It is probable that part of his data refer to Andricus megalucidus . Both A. lucidus and A. megalucidus can coexist in the same locations, as for example, in Greece (Corfu, Barbati) ( PUJADE-VILLAR et al. 2002), and at sites in Turkey and Iran.

Distribution – Currently known from Turkey (regions north of Antalya east to Tarsus), Iran (northern Zagros mountains, Kordestan; Lorestan; West Azerbaijan, Piran Shahr and Sardesht), and Greece (Corfu, PUJADE-VILLAR et al. 2002), although further sampling in similar habitats is required to establish its true distribution.

Figures

Figs 1–7. Andricus megalucidus, asexual female:1 = head, frontview, 2 = head from above, 3 = head, posterior view, 4 = antenna, 5 = forewing, 6 = scutum and scutellum, dorsal view, 7 = metasoma, lat-

Figs 8–13. 8–12 = Andricus lucidus, asexual female: 8 = head, front view, 9 = head, posterior view, 10 = antenna, 11 = fore wing, 12 = metanotum and propodeum, dorsal view. 13 = A. megalucidus,

Fig. 14. Asexual generation gall of Andricus megalucidus collected at Kordestan, Piran Shahr, Iran, developing on buds of Quercus infectoria (photo by G. STONE)