Kokkocynips rileyi ( Ashmead, 1896 ) Nieves-Aldrey & Nicholls & Tang & Melika & Stone & Pujade-Villar & Buffington & Maldonado & Medianero, 2021

Nieves-Aldrey, José Luis, Nicholls, James A., Tang, Chang-Ti, Melika, George, Stone, Graham N., Pujade-Villar, Juli, Buffington, Matthew, Maldonado, Yurixi & Medianero, Enrique, 2021, Re-description and systematic re-appraisal of the genus Kokkocynips Pujade-Villar & Melika, (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini), including new combinations of Nearctic species and the description of a new species from Panama, Zootaxa 4938 (2), pp. 205-232 : 224

Kokkocynips rileyi ( Ashmead, 1896) n. comb. ( Figs. 8 , 10D , 11F )

Andricus rileyi Ashmead, 1896 . Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus, vol. 19, p. 121.

Dryocosmus rileyi (Ashmead) : Weld, 1926b. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., 68(10): 44.

Material examined: holotype. Through CV Riley, Type No. 3070, USNM, 710P. Iss. July 2/77, Andricus Rileyi Ashm, USNMENT 00802310 ( USNM) .

Paratype. Type #3070, USNM . No. 710Q on red oak, St L. Mo, Oct 2, ’81. Female, USNMENT01525998. USNM .

Other material examined: USA. New York. Woodlawn, X. 9. NY, Andricus rileyi W.B. Ash, Beut Coll rec’d 1935, 1 female, USNMENT01525995 ( USNM) , Woodlawn, VIII.17. NY City, Beut Coll rec’d 1935, Dryocosmus rileyi (Ashm) , 1 female, USNMENT01525996 ( USNM) , Woodlawn, IX.2.1915. NY City, W. Beutenmuller Collector, Beut Coll rec’d 1935, 1 female, USNMENT01525997 ( USNM) .

Gall: the main body of the gall is globular, small (around 3 mm.), with a detachable yellowish fleshy knob on the dorsal side of the gall ( Fig. 11F ). Galls are attached to the midrib or lateral veins of a leaf by a slender stalk. The young gall body is yellowish, and gradually turns brownish following maturation. The larval cell occupies the whole of the interior ( Ashmead 1896).

Host plant: this species was originally described from galls collected on Quercus rubra . It has subsequently been found on all eastern US red oaks ( Weld 1926b, Weld 1959).

Biology: known only from an asexual generation. Galls collected in the autumn produced adults in September and October of the following year; in other samples adults emerged from January to March next year.

Distribution: this species was originally described from Missouri. Weld (1926b) added many localities from New York to Florida and westwards to Missouri and Texas.

Remarks: as in the case of other species discussed here, Weld (1926b) transferred this species from its original placement in Andricus to the genus Dryocosmus on the basis of the following set of characters: “mesoscutum smooth, head sculptured, claws simple, no malar groove and third segment of antenna longer than fourth”. We herewith transfer this species to Kokkocynips based on all these shared characters (with the exception of the ambiguous malar sulcus) and in addition based on the presence of the long hypopygium without long subapical setae, a sculptured band on the mesopleuron, the micropunctate metasomal tergites and the percurrent notauli (see Fig. 8 ), Our phylogenetic analysis placed K. rileyi as sister to the clade of detachable stem galling Kokkocynips species plus the other leaf galler K. decidua , although with poor support.

Figures

FIG. 8. Kokkocynips rileyi (Ashmead), n. comb., female, SEM pictures. (A) Head dorsal view. (B) Head anterior view. (C) Mesosoma dorsal view (D) Mesosoma lateral view. (E) Propodeum. (F) Metasoma lateral view.. (G) Metatarsal claw. (H) Hypopygium

FIG. 10. Female habitus of species of Kokkocynips. (A) Kokkocynips decidua (Beutenmueller) n. comb. (B) Kokkocynips doctorrosae Pujade-Villar. (C) Kokkocynips coxii (Bassett) n. comb. (D) Kokkocynips rileyi (Ashmead) n. comb. (E) Kokkocynips difficilis (Ashmead) n. comb. (F) Kokkocynips imbricariae (Ashmead) n. comb.

FIG. 11. Galls of species of Kokkocynips. (A) K. doctorrosae Pujade-Villar. (B) Kokkocynips imbricariae (Ashmead). (C) Kokkocynips coxii (Basset). (D) Kokkocynips decidua (Beutenmueller). (E) Kokkocynips difficilis (Ashmead). (F) Kokkocynips rileyi (Ashmead). (G) Kokkocynips attractans (Kinsey). (H) Kokkocynips panamensis n. sp.