Amphibolips bassae Cuesta-Porta & Pujade-Villar, 2020

Cuesta-Porta, Víctor, Equihua-Martínez, Armando, Estrada-Venegas, Edith G., Cibrián-Tovar, David, Barrera-Ruíz, Uriel M., Silva, Salvador Ordaz, Sánchez, Imelda Virginia López, Melika, George & Pujade-Villar, Juli, 2020, Revision of the Amphibolips species of the ‘ nassa’ complex from Mexico and central America (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae), Zootaxa 4877 (1), pp. 1-50 : 5-8

Amphibolips bassae Cuesta-Porta & Pujade-Villar n. sp.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:B54EB2A5-C4E0-4B7A-A548-03DD111317F2

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♀ (deposited in UB) with the following labels: “ MEXICO, Juárez , Puebla ” (white label), “ Q. crassifolia , (26.v.2013) vi.2013, leg. Alondra ” (white label), Holotype Amphibolips bassae Cuesta-Porta & JP-V n. sp., desig. Cuesta-Porta, 2020” (red label) . Paratypes: 1♂ with the same data as the holotype .

Etymology. Named in honor of Dolors Bassa i Coll.

Diagnosis. The new species is characterized by its forewing colouration, infuscate on distal half with a hyaline cross band covering the whole width of wing on the distal third in females (males with completely infuscate forewings except for a clear area distally on the first costal cell, under margin with radial cell); mesoscutellum slightly broader than long with posterolateral pointed projections and projecting upwards; scutellar fovea are separated by a strong median carina; the antenna black, sometimes lighter distally. Most closely resembles A. bromus n. sp. and A. cibriani . Amphibolips bassae n. sp. and A. cibriani have incomplete notauli and the mesoscutellum broader than long, but the posterolateral projections of mesoscutellum is pointed upwards in the new species and rounded in A. cibriani ; antenna almost uniformly chestnut black in the new species and basally black and light brown distally in A. cibriani ; the clypeus and mandibles are uniformly chestnut brown in A. bassae n. sp., while in A. cibriani the clypeus is chestnut brown and mandibles are rufous. Also, the new species differs from A. bromus n. sp. by the incomplete notauli and mesoscutellum broader than long. Galls of the new species are completely different from all mentioned species; it is globular, hard, not squeezable by finger pressure, up to 40 mm of diameter. The surface is olive green when mature and turning brownish green when dry, never mottled.

Description. ( Figs 1 A–1G).

Sexual female. Body length: 5 mm (N=1)

Colour. Head black; antennae black on basal half and chestnut brown distally; mesosoma black; legs chestnut brown, except ambarine tarsi; metasoma ambarine.

Head ( Figs 1 C–1D) ovate in anterior view, upper face coarsely dull rugose, almost glabrous, 2.6x as broad as long from above, 1.2x as broad as high in anterior view and slightly narrower than mesosoma; lower face rugose with alutaceous interspaces, uniformly sparsely pubescent with white setae. Gena rugose with alutaceous interspaces, broadened behind eye, visible behind eyes in anterior view, 1.3x as broad as cross diameter of eye; malar space faintly rugate and dull; height of eye 1.6 times as long as length of malar space. POL subequal to OOL; diameter of lateral ocellus 2.5–2.8x larger than LOL; ocelli round. Transfacial distance 1.4 times as broad as height of eye; diameter of antennal torulus 3x longer than distance between toruli, distance between torulus and inner margin of eye 1.3 times as long as diameter of torulus. Clypeus alutaceous, ventrally emarginate, with median incision; anterior tentorial pits deep, epistomal sulcus and clypeo-pleurostomal lines obscured, slightly discernible. Frons, vertex, interocellar area and occiput uniformly coarsely rugose. Occiput with dorsal faint carina. Labial palpus 3-segmented, maxillary palpus 5-segmented.

Antenna ( Fig. 1B ) with 11 flagellomeres; slightly longer than mesosoma+head; scape 2.6x as long as pedicel; pedicel subglobose, slightly broader than long; F1 subequal to scape+pedicel and 1.3x as long as F2; F2 slightly longer than F3; F3 nearly equal to F4, subsequent flagellomeres shorter, F11 2.0x as long as F10; F11 strongly divided with incomplete sulci, F11 2.0x as long as broad after the incomplete sulci, placodeal sensilla visible on F5–F11, absent on F1–F4.

Mesosoma ( Figs 1 E–1F) only slightly longer than high. Pronotal plate smooth dorsally, with numerous irregular rugae laterally. Mesoscutum uniformly rugose with alutaceous interspaces; round, as long as broad in dorsal view (largest width measured across mesoscutum on the level of tegulae base). Notauli incomplete, lost in rugose sculpture on anterior half, notaular furrow with same sculpture as rest of mesoscutum; anterior parallel lines hardly visible through sculpture, not elevate, alutaceous-coriaceous, extending to almost half of mesoscutum; parapsidal lines distinct, originating away from posterior margin and extending to nearly half length of mesoscutum, slightly elevated; median mesoscutal sulcus present, shiny with transversal rugate; parascutal carina short, extending to level of tegula only. Mesoscutellum 0.5x as long as mesoscutum, 0.8x as long as broad, coarsely dull rugose, round, as broad as long, overhanging metanotum; marginate laterally, scutellar foveae round, deep, conspicuous median carina, foveae shiny smooth with faint transversal carinae connected to median carina, lateral sides of foveae with strong narrow carinae, separating them from dorsoaxillar area, posteriorly margined by V-shaped carina pointing to posterior depression. Mesoscutellum with posteromedian depression reaching posterior margin of mesoscutellum, margined laterally by strong carinae, depression rugate. Mesopleuron uniformly rugose with alutaceous interspaces and sparsely pubescent, some rugae orientated into transverse subparallel striae. Mesopleural triangle rugose and shiny; dorsal axillar area rugate; lateral axillar area and axillula faintly rugate, with few short, white setae; subaxillular bar smooth, shiny, with parallel sides, its height less than height of metanotal trough, most posterior part extending to half height of mesoscutellum; postalar process long, with parallel striae; metapleural sulcus hidden in dull rugose sculpture. Metascutellum uniformly faintly rugate-coriaceous, metanotal trough faintly shiny rugose, with dense white setae; ventral impressed area smooth, slightly shorter than height of metascutellum; central propodeal area rugate, dull; lateral propodeal carinae visible, partially covered by sculpture, subparallel, slightly curved outwards medially; lateral propodeal area with irregular strong wrinkles and dense white setae; nucha short, with irregular wrinkles.

Legs with sparse short white setae; tarsal claws with basal lobe.

Forewing ( Fig. 1A ) longer than body, hyaline on basal half, with basal cell slightly infuscate around margins; short dense cilia on margin; distal half infuscate with clear longitudinal stripe on distal third extended posteriorly covering distal third of radial cell, medial part of second costal cell and distal part of discoidal cell; veins dark brown; radial cell narrow, heavily infuscate basally, long, opened on margin, 3 times longer than broad; R1 nearly reaching wing margin; areolet small, visible, triangular, closed; Rs+M reaching basalis at its half height.

Metasoma ( Fig. 1G ) almost as long as head+mesosoma, 1.2x as long as high in lateral view; 2nd metasomal tergum slightly surpassing half of length of metasoma, smooth, dull, with short sparse setae laterally; posterior third conspicuously finely punctate dorsally and laterally, posterior margin with a very narrow smooth band, without punctures; all subsequent terga dorsally and laterally uniformly and entirely micropunctate, with a narrow smooth band posteriorly on each tergum. Ventral spine of hypopygium robust, short, needle-like, prominent part 3.3x as long as broad, with two rows of white setae each side, extending beyond apex of spine.

Male ( Figs 2 A–2F). Differs from female as follows: antennae with 13 flagellomeres ( Fig. 2B ), entirely black; legs black except tarsi chestnut brown; forewings completely infuscate ( Fig. 2F ), first costal cell with clear area on distal half, basal margin of radial cell more infuscate, hyaline patch on middle third of Rs vein, covering part of radial and costal II cell; transfacial distance 1.2x as long as height of eye, diameter of toruli 2.5x as long as distance from torulus to lateral margin of eye, diameter of torulus 4.5x as long as distance between toruli. Mesoscutum coarsely rugose, notauli and median carina almost inconspicuous, rugose ( Fig. 2D ). Mesoscutellum coarsely rugose, 1.1x longer than broad; scutellar foveae round, shiny and rugose ( Fig. 2C ). Metasoma 0.9x as long as mesosoma and 1.6x as long as high ( Fig. 2A ). Length 5 mm (N=1)

Gall ( Figs 16 E–G). A rather small, subglobose bud gall, around 40 mm in diameter; slightly narrower at base around the connection with the branch. The gall is thick-walled, with lignified parenchyma, olive green when mature and turn light brown when dry, with smooth and naked surface; hard spongious parenchyma internally with central ovate, hard-walled larval chamber, with largest length of 5.0– 6.5 mm.

Host. Quercus crassifolia .

Biology. Only the sexual generation is known. The mature gall was collected in May; adults emerged in June.

Distribution. Mexico: Puebla State.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Amphibolips bassae n. sp.: (A) female habitus; (B) female antenna; (C)female head in dorsal view; (D) female head in frontal view; (E) female mesosoma in dorsal view, notauli (N), median sulci (MS) and scutellar median carina (MC) marked with white arrows; (F) female mesosoma in posterior view; (G) female metasoma in lateral view.

FIGURE 2. Amphibolips bassae n. sp.: (A) male habitus; (B) male antennae; (C) male scutellum; (D) male mesosoma in dorsal view; (E) male metasoma in lateral view.; (F) male forewing.

FIGURE 16. Galls. (A–D) A. quercuspomiformis comb. nov.: (A) mature gall, (B) dry gall, (C–D) internal tissue, larval cells signaled (white arrow); (E–G) A. bassae n. sp.: (E) dry gall, (F) internal tissue, (G) mature gall; (H–I) A. tarasco: (H) dry gall, (I) internal tissue; (J) A. kinseyi n. sp., dry gall.