Amphibolips bromus Pujade-Villar & Cuesta-Porta, 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 : 8-11

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

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:8256CC0E-6C41-48DE-8F9B-15F295ABD670

Type material. HOLOTYPE. ♀ (deposited in UB) with the following labels: “ MEXICO, Predio La Victoria, Acaxochitlan , Hidalgo ” (white label), “ Q. affinis , (03.v.2014) 16-31.v.2014, leg. U. Barrera-Ruiz ” (white label). “ Holotype Amphibolips bromus Pujade Villar & Cuesta-Porta n. sp., desig. Cuesta-Porta, 2020” (red label).

Additional material. Galls collected in Sta. Fe (Mexico State) in June 2018 and June 2019 on Q. crassipes

Etymology. The name refers to the genus Bromus ( Poaceae ), because the gall resembles some of the flowers of the species in this genus.

Diagnosis. The new species is characterized by the forewing colouration: infuscate on the distal half with a hyaline cross band covering the whole width of the wing on distal third; mesoscutellum slightly longer than broad with posterolateral projections ending in a carina, posteriorly defining the margin of the depression on the mesoscutellum; scutellar fovea with a faint median carina; antennae chestnut brown, sometimes slightly lighter distally. Most closely resembles A. bassae n. sp. but can be differentiate by an inconspicuous median sulcus between scutellar foveae (visible through the sculpture in A. bassae n. sp.), mesoscutellum longer than broad (broader than long in females of A. bassae n. sp.), with margin of posterior depression defined laterally by carinae in posterior view (not marginate in A. cibriani and A. bassae n. sp.). Galls of A. bromus n. sp. differ from all earlier known Mexican Amphibolips species; they are strongly elongate with peduncle and apex very thin and long, internally almost without spongious tissue.

Description. ( Figs 3 A–3F).

Female. Body length: 5 mm (N=1)

Colour. Head black, except clypeus and mandibles brown; antennae black on basal half and chestnut to brown distally, mesosoma black, legs black, except tarsi brown, metasoma rufous brown.

Head ( Figs 3 A–3B) ovate in anterior view, upper face dull rugose, sparsely pubescent, 2.1x as broad as long from above, 1.1x as broad as high in anterior view and slightly narrower than mesosoma; lower face delicately rugose with alutaceous-coriaceous interspaces, uniformly pubescent, with white setae. Gena rugose with alutaceous interspaces, broadened behind eye, visible behind eyes in anterior view, as broad as cross diameter of eye; malar space faintly rugose and dull; height of eye 1.8x as long as length of malar space. POL subequal to OOL; diameter of lateral ocellus 2.0x as long as LOL; ocelli ovate. Transfacial distance 1.2x as broad as height of eye; diameter of antennal torulus 4.0x as long as distance between toruli, distance between torulus and inner margin of eye 1.3x as long as diameter of torulus. Clypeus alutaceous, ventrally with median incision; anterior tentorial pits deep, epistomal sulcus and clypeo-pleurostomal lines obscured, hardly traceable. Frons, vertex, interocellar area and occiput uniformly rugose with alutaceous interspaces. Occiput with dorsal faint carina. Labial palpus 3-segmented, maxillary palpus 5-segmented.

Antenna ( Fig. 3B ) with 11 flagellomeres; slightly longer than head+mesosoma; scape 2.4x as long as pedicel; pedicel subglobose, slightly longer than broad; F1 subequal to scape+pedicel and 1.2x as long as F2; F2 1.2x as long as F3; F3 nearly equal in length to F4, subsequent flagellomeres shorter, F11 2.0x as long as F10, F11 partially divided; placodeal sensilla visible on F3–F11, absent on F1–F2.

Mesosoma ( Figs 3 C–3D) 1.2x as long as high. Pronotal plate dull smooth, rugate laterally; propleuron black. Mesoscutum rounded, uniformly rugose with alutaceous interspaces; 0.9x as long as broad in dorsal view (largest width measured across mesoscutum on the level of tegulae base). Notauli complete, mainly deep, shallower from half-length of mesoscutum, distinct through rugose sculpture, sulci with sculpture as rest of mesoscutum; anterior parallel lines visible through sculpture, elevate, extending to almost half of mesoscutum; parapsidal lines distinct, originating away from posterior margin and extending to nearly half length of mesoscutum, elevated, alutaceous; median mesoscutal sulcus absent; parascutal carina short, extending to level of tegula. Mesoscutellum 0.5–0.6x as long as mesoscutum, coarsely dull rugose, ovate, as broad as long, overhanging metanotum; not marginate laterally; scutellar foveae round, deep, with conspicuous median carina, foveae dull and delicately rugate, lateral sides of foveae with strong narrow carinae, separating them from dorsoaxillar area, posteriorly limited by coarsely rugate sculpture. Mesoscutellum with posteromedian depression connected to median part of foveae, reaching posterior margin of mesoscutellum, margined posteriorly by convergent strong carinae, depression dull rugose. Mesopleuron uniformly faintly rugose with alutaceous interspaces, sparsely pubescent, some rugae orientated into transverse subparallel striae. Mesopleural triangle rugose; dorsal axillar area rugate; lateral axillar area and axillula faintly rugate, with few short, white setae; subaxilular bar smooth, shining, with parallel sides on anterior part, 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 undert dull rugose sculpture. Metascutellum uniformly faintly rugate-coriaceous, metanotal trough shining, rugate, 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, extended posteriorly to lateral sides of nucha; lateral propodeal area with irregular strong wrinkles and dense white setae; nucha short, with irregular wrinkles around.

Legs black, brown distally, with sparse short white setae; tarsal claws with basal lobe.

Forewing ( Fig. 3E ) longer than body, with short dense cilia on margin; hyaline on basal half, with basal cell slightly infuscate around margins; distal half infuscate with clear longitudinal stripe on distal third extended posteriorly, reaching margin of wing, 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, 3.0x as long as broad; R1 nearly reaching wing margin; areolet highly reduced, almost absent, closed; Rs+M reaching basalis at its half height.

Metasoma ( Fig. 3F ) as long as head+mesosoma, 1.4x as long as high in lateral view; 2 nd metasomal tergum reaching 2/3 of length of metasoma, smooth, shining, with short sparse setae laterally; posterior third conspicuously punctate dorsally and laterally, posterior margin with narrow smooth band, without punctures; all subsequent terga dorsally and laterally uniformly and entirely micropunctate, with narrow smooth band posteriorly on each tergum. Ventral spine of hypopygium robust, short, needle-like, prominent part 3.2x as long as broad, with two rows of white setae each side, extending beyond apex of spine.

Gall ( Fig. 14H ). A very thin and elongate bud gall, about 50 mm long, with greatest width near the middle, up to 4 mm wide; elongate and thin petioles widening near median part, pointy apex gradually tapering from middle part. The gall is thin-walled, with a smooth and naked surface; thin spongious layer internally surrounding the central ovate larval chamber, with mature galls having a length of 5.0– 6.5 mm.

Hosts. Quercus affinis , Q. crassipes .

Biology. Only the females are known. The mature gall was collected in May; adults emerged by the end of May.

Distribution. Mexico: Hidalgo and Mexico States.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Amphibolips bromus n. sp.: (A) head in frontal view; (B) mesosoma in dorsal view, notauli (N) signaled (white arrows); (C) antennae and head in lateral view; (D) mesosoma in posterior view, carinae margining posterior depression signaled (white arrows and lines); (E) metasoma in lateral view.; (F) forewing.

FIGURE 14. Galls: (A–D) A. aliciae; (E) A. fusus dry galls; (F–G) A. turulli n. sp. mature gall; (H) A. bromus n. sp.; (I–K) A. cibriani.