Qwaqwaia Liljeblad, Nieves-Aldrey & Melika, 2011

Noort, Simon van, Buffington, Matthew L. & Forshage, Mattias, 2015, Afrotropical Cynipoidea (Hymenoptera), ZooKeys 493, pp. 1-176 : 17

Taxon classification Animalia Hymenoptera Cynipidae

Qwaqwaia Liljeblad, Nieves-Aldrey & Melika, 2011

Remarks.

Qwaqwaia has a dorsally wide pronotum, a character shared with members of the Synergini and the Aylacini (especially some species of Phanacis ). However, the presence of only two prominent teeth on the right mandible and a parascutal carina that extends anteriorly all the way to the notaulus separate Qwaqwaia scolopiae from species of these two tribes ( Liljeblad et al. 2011).

Diagnosis.

Qwaqwaia has a strong, sharp occipital carina, which distinguishes this genus from both other Afrotropical representatives of this family where the carina is absent. Marginal cell of forewing closed, with veins heavily pigmented, a character state shared with Rhoophilus , however, the areolet is elongate rhomboidal whereas it is triangular in Rhoophilus . The hypopygium is short, abrupt, without a projecting ventral spine (present in both other genera), with dense setae forming an apical tuft.

Biology.

Gall inducer on Scolopia mundii (Eckl. & Zeyh.) Warb. ( Salicaceae ), a tree in the eudicot subclass Rosidae ( Liljeblad et al. 2011).

Distribution.

South Africa: Kwazulu-Natal; Mpumalanga.

Species richness.

Qwaqwaia scolopiae Liljeblad, Nieves-Aldrey & Melika, 2011 (South Africa)