Andricus cooki Melika, Nicholls & Stone, 2021

Melika, George, Nicholls, James A., Abrahamson, Warren G., Buss, Eileen A. & Stone, Graham N., 2021, New species of Nearctic oak gall wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae, Cynipini), Zootaxa 5084 (1), pp. 1-131 : 32-36

Andricus cooki Melika, Nicholls & Stone , sp. nov.

Figs. 101–113

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:B432910B-3E40-456D-9102-D2581795AED8

Type material: HOLOTYPE female “ USA, Florida, Archbold BioStation, leg. J. Nicholls, 2008.04.14. Code FL1039 , spFlc1, ex Quercus myrtifolia ” . PARATYPES: 4 females and 8 males with the same labels as the holotype. The holotype and two males are deposited at the USNM , 4 females and 6 males at the PHDNRL .

Etymology. Named in recognition of the contributions of Prof. James Cook (Western Sydney University, Australia) to studies of oak gall wasps.

Diagnosis. Catkin galls of Andricus cooki most closely resemble those of two known species from Florida ( C. myrtifoliae ( Beutenmueller, 1917) on Q. myrtifolia and C. quercusturnerii ( Ashmead, 1881) on Q. nigra ) and also Andricus fitzpatricki described herein. In A. cooki the galls are covered with dense whitish pubescence, while in A. fitzpatricki and C. myrtifoliae the clusters of catkin galls are smooth and shiny, without pubescence. In A. cooki the frons, vertex and head in posterior view are dark brown to black, the mesoscutellar disk coriaceous with some strong rugae, and the mesosoma and metasoma are reddish brown with black areas, while in C. quercusturnerii the head of male entirely reddish brown, the mesoscutellar disk has strong rugae with the intervening area glabrous, and the mesosoma and metasoma are uniformly reddish brown.

Description. Sexual female ( Figs. 101–103, 106 , 108–112 ). Head, antennae, mouthparts, mesosoma legs reddish brown; metasoma brown, with darker brown areas.

Head alutaceous, with sparse white setae on lower face, 1.2× as broad as high and slightly broader than mesosoma in frontal view, 1.8× as broad as long from dorsal view. Gena alutaceous, slightly broadened behind eye in frontal view, narrower than transverse diameter of eye in lateral view. Malar space alutaceous, glabrous, with very delicate striae radiating from clypeus and reaching eye; eye 1.6× as high as length of malar space. Eyes slightly converging ventrally. POL 1.4× as long as OOL, OOL 2.3× as long as diameter of lateral ocellus and 1.7× as long as LOL, all ocelli slightly ovate, of same size. Transfacial distance 1.5× as long as height of eye; diameter of antennal torulus 2.0× as long as distance between them, distance between torulus and eye 1.6× as long as diameter of torulus; lower face alutaceous, glabrous, with rare white setae, with very delicate, inconspicuous interrupted striae radiating from clypeus and reaching to antennal toruli but not extending into area between torulus and eye; slightly elevated median area alutaceous, glabrous, with few setae. Clypeus rectangular, nearly 2.0× as broad as high, smooth, glabrous, with long setae; ventrally rounded, not emarginate and without median incision; anterior tentorial pit small, rounded, indistinct, epistomal sulcus distinct, clypeo-pleurostomal line well impressed. Frons uniformly reticulate, without striae and setae, interocellar area reticulate. Vertex, occiput and postocciput reticulate, postgena alutaceous, with sparse white setae; posterior tentorial pit small, rounded, area below impressed; occipital foramen slightly higher than height of postgenal bridge; hypostomal carina emarginate, continuing into postgenal sulci which strongly diverge toward occipital foramen, postgenal bridge anteriorly as broad as occipital foramen. Antenna longer than head+mesosoma, with 12 flagellomeres (suture between F11 and F12 indistinct), pedicel slightly longer than broad, flagellomeres slightly broadened towards apex; F1 1.8× as long as pedicel and slightly longer than F2; F2 1.1× as long as F3; F3=F4, F5 1.3× as long as F6, subsequent flagellomeres nearly equal in length; placodeal sensilla indistinct on all flagellomeres.

Mesosoma 1.2× as long as high, with sparse white setae, except dense setae on lateral propodeal area. Pronotum reticulate, with sparse setae, without striae laterally; propleuron alutaceous, glabrous. Mesoscutum uniformly reticulate, with sparse white setae, slightly longer than broad (greatest width measured across mesoscutum at level of base of tegulae). Notaulus complete, deep, broad, bottom smooth, with transverse striae, posteriorly broader and slightly converging; anterior parallel line indistinct, marked with smooth line; parapsidal line distinct, marked with smooth line; median mesoscutal absent; circumscutellar carina broad, reaching notaulus. Mesoscutellum trapezoid, slightly longer than broad, coriaceous, with net of strong irregular rugae, overhanging metanotum, posteriorly broader and rounded. Mesoscutellar foveae separated by narrow elevated coriaceous central carina, rounded, with smooth, glabrous bottom. Mesopleuron and speculum uniformly reticulate, with dense setae ventrally; mesopleural triangle smooth, glabrous, with some irregular striae and dense setae; dorsal and lateral axillar areas delicately coriaceous, with dense white setae; subaxillular bar smooth, glabrous, with parallel sides, as high as height of metanotal trough; metapleural sulcus reaching mesopleuron in upper 1/3 of height, upper part of sulcus distinct. Metascutellum coriaceous, 2.0× as long as height of smooth, glabrous ventral impressed area; metanotal trough smooth, glabrous, with dense setae; central propodeal area lyre-shaped, smooth, glabrous, with net of irregular rugae; lateral propodeal carinae bent slightly outwards in posterior 1/3; lateral propodeal area smooth, glabrous, with long dense white setae. Nucha with numerous sulci dorsally and laterally. Tarsal claws simple, without basal lobes.

Forewing longer than body, hyaline, without cilia on margin, veins light brown, hardly visible, radial cell open, 2.2× as long as broad; R1and Rs reaching wing margin; areolet invisible. Rs+M narrow, inconspicuous, its projection reaching basalis at mid height.

Metasoma as long as head+mesosoma, longer than high in lateral view; second metasomal tergite extending to half the length of metasoma in dorsal view, without setae and micropunctures; subsequent tergites smooth, glabrous, without micropunctures. Hypopygium without micropunctures, prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium 8.3× as long as broad in ventral view, narrowing towards apex, with some short setae ventrally which do not extend beyond apex of spine. Body length 1.8–2.0 mm (n = 5).

Male ( Figs. 104–105, 107 ). Similar to female, but head dark brown with light brown lower face and malar space; mesosoma and metasoma darker; eye 2.4× as high as length of malar space; POL 1.9× as long as OOL, OOL slightly longer than LOL and 1.6× as long as diameter of lateral ocellus, ocelli larger; interocellar area elevated in frontal view; antenna with 12 flagellomeres, F1 slightly curved, swollen in apical 2/3, F12 shorter than F11; placodeal sensilla on all flagellomeres. Body length 1.7–1.9 mm (n = 6).

Gall ( Fig. 113 ). Dark green, sometimes purplish, clusters of densely pubescent, rounded unilocular galls on catkins. Clusters contain 10–20 individual galls and appear to cause shortening of the catkin. Similar to or the same as the undescribed gall in Figure 55 of Weld (1959).

Biology. Only a sexual generation is known, which induces galls on catkins on Q. myrtifolia and Q. laurifolia . Adults emerge in late April–May. Conspecific pairing of males and females was confirmed using DNA data, with identical cytb sequences in one male and female (GenBank OK346268 – OK346269 ) and ITS2 sequences also identical except for a single base insertion ( OK350638 – OK350639 ).

Distribution. USA, Florida: Lake Placid; Archbold Biological Station; Lake Manatee State Park; Spanish Ponds Wildlife Reserve, Jacksonville.

Figures

FIGURE 113. Andricus cooki Melika, Nicholls & Stone, sp. nov., sexual generation, galls.

FIGURES 101–107. Andricus cooki Melika, Nicholls & Stone, sp. nov., sexual generation. 101–103, head, female: 101, frontal view, 102, dorsal view, 103, posterior view. 104–105, head, male: 104, frontal view, 105, dorsal view. 106–107, antenna: 106, female, 107, male.

FIGURES108–112.Andricus cookiMelika,Nicholls &Stone, sp. nov., sexualgeneration,female:108, mesosoma andpropleura, frontal view, 109, mesosoma, lateral view, 110, mesosoma, dorsal view, 111, metascutellum and propodeum, posterodorsal view, 112, metasoma, lateral view.

FIGURES 52–55. Andricus chapmanii Melika & Abrahamson, sp. nov., asexual female: 52, mesosoma, lateral view, 53, mesosoma, posterolateral view, 54, metascutellum and propodeum, posterodorsal view, 55, metasoma, lateral view.