Andricus mogollonensis 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 : 52-56

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

Figs. 183–193

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:4FF6DCD4-8F24-4557-BC0A-9D7CECC41D71

Type material: HOLOTYPE female “ USA, Arizona, 5 km NE of Strawberry, Code AZ1854, leg. J. Nicholls, 2008.04.12. ex Quercus gambelii ” . PARATYPES two females: one is labelled as the holotype; one female “ USA, Arizona, Chiricahua Mnts. summit, coll. J. Nicholls, 2008.04.07. Code AZ1889, spAZb21; ex Quercus gambelii ”. The holotype is deposited at the USNM , 2 females at the PHDNRL .

Etymology. The species is named after the Mogollon Rim region in Arizona where it occurs.

Diagnosis. The gall resembles sexual generation pip galls induced by the sexual generations of Disholcaspis Dalla Torre & Kieffer, 1910 and Acraspis Mayr, 1881 . No other Andricus species from Arizona is known to induce such a gall. In A. mogollonensis the tarsal claws are simple, thus it is Callirhytis sensu Burks (1979) . No species of Callirhytis are known from AZ, NM which induce bud galls on Q. gambelii or other white oaks.

Description. Female ( Figs. 183–192 ). Head light brown, darker posteriorly; mesosoma light brown with some dark brown parts, second metasomal tergite rusty brown, rest of metasoma dark brown; legs uniformly light brown, antennae light brown, flagellomeres gradually darker towards apex.

Head delicately coriaceous, with sparse white setae, denser on lower face and postgena; 1.2× as broad as high and slightly broader than mesosoma in frontal view, 2.1× as broad as long in dorsal view. Gena alutaceous, slightly broadened behind eye in frontal view, broader than transverse diameter of eye in lateral view. Malar space alutaceous, with delicate striae, radiating from clypeus and nearly reaching margin; eye 2.3× as high as height of malar space. Inner margins of eyes parallel. POL 1.7× as long as OOL; OOL 1.9× as long as diameter of lateral ocellus and slightly longer than LOL; all ocelli ovate, of same size. Transfacial distance slightly longer than height of eye; diameter of antennal torulus 2.5× as long as distance between them, distance between torulus and eye slightly shorter than diameter of torulus; lower face coriaceous, with white setae, without striae; slightly elevated median area coriaceous. Clypeus quadrangular, nearly as broad as high, smooth, glabrous, with a few long setae; ventrally rounded, emarginate, without median incision; anterior tentorial pit large, rounded, epistomal sulcus and clypeo-pleurostomal line broad, well impressed. Frons and interocellar area coriaceous, without striae, with a few short setae. Vertex, occiput, postocciput, postgena alutaceous to delicately coriaceous, with sparse white setae; posterior tentorial pit large, ovate, area below impressed; occipital foramen slightly shorter than height of postgenal bridge; hypostomal carina emarginate, continuing into postgenal sulci which run parallel towards occipital foramen, postgenal bridge anteriorly broader. Antenna longer than head+mesosoma, with 13 flagellomeres, pedicel subglobular, slightly longer than broad, flagellomeres slightly broadened towards apex, F1 1.8× as long as pedicel and slightly longer than F2, F2–F4 equal in length, F5 slightly shorter than F4, subsequent flagellomeres gradually shortened till apex, F13=F12, placodeal sensilla on F6–F13.

Mesosoma slightly longer than high, with sparse short white setae. Pronotum glabrous, rugose, with parallel longitudinal interrupted rugae laterally; propleuron smooth, glabrous. Mesoscutum glabrous, with sparse white setae and mainly transversely orientated delicate rugae; as long as broad (greatest width measured across mesoscutum at level of base of tegulae). Notaulus complete, deep, broad, with smooth glabrous bottom, posteriorly broader and slightly converging; anterior parallel line delimited by alutaceous sculpture, extends to 1/4 of mesoscutum length; parapsidal line indistinct, hardly traceable, indicated by smoother surface; median mesoscutal line absent. Mesoscutellum trapezoid, broader in posterior 1/3, coriaceous, laterally and posteriorly rugose, posteriorly rounded, overhanging metanotum. Mesoscutellar foveae separated by narrow elevated coriaceous central carina, transverse, broader than high, well-delimited all around, with smooth, glabrous bottom. Mesopleuron and speculum with transverse rugae, absent along ventral margin; mesopleural triangle coriaceous, with few setae; dorsal and lateral axillar areas smooth, glabrous, with white short setae; subaxillular bar smooth, glabrous, most posterior end slightly higher than height of metanotal trough; metapleural sulcus reaching mesopleuron in upper 1/3 of its height, upper part of sulcus indistinct. Metascutellum coriaceous, as high as height of smooth, glabrous ventral impressed area; metanotal trough smooth, glabrous, with few setae; central propodeal area smooth, glabrous, with some delicate irregular rugae; lateral propodeal carinae bent slightly outwards in posterior 1/3; lateral propodeal area smooth, glabrous, with long dense white setae. Nucha short with irregular sulci dorsally and laterally. Tarsal claws simple, without basal lobe.

Forewing longer than body, hyaline, margin without cilia, veins brown, radial cell open, 4.5× as long as broad; R1 and Rs reaching wing margin, areolet triangular, distinct, Rs+M inconspicuous, traceable along 2/3 of length, its projection reaching basalis in mid half of its height.

Metasoma as long as head+mesosoma, slightly longer than high in lateral view; second metasomal tergite occupying more than half the length of metasoma in dorsal view, without setae anterolaterally, smooth, without micropunctures posteriorly; subsequent tergites with dense delicate micropunctures. Hypopygium with micropunctures, yellowish, prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium 2.5× as long as broad in ventral view, with a few short setae ventrally which do not extend beyond apex of spine. Body length 2.6–2.8 mm (n = 3).

Gall. ( Fig. 193 ). A tiny chestnut brown, unilocular pip gall in axillary buds. The gall is a smooth thin-walled ‘pip’ gall, comprising only the larval chamber, reaching 3–4 mm long by 2 mm in diameter, with a blunt rounded apex.

Biology. Only females are known, whose morphology most closely resembles asexual generation females (genae are broadened behind the eye, visible in front view). However, this character alone is inadequate to confirm that this is an asexual generation. Mature galls were collected in April from Q. gambelii ; adults emerged soon afterwards. This spring developmental phenology is more compatible with a sexual generation. In addition, the gall morphology of a bare larval chamber on a bud is more typical of a sexual generation gall.

Cytb (GenBank OK346277 – OK346278 ) and ITS2 ( OK350642 – OK350643 ) sequences were identical between two individuals, confirming that the wasps emerging from this very basic gall morphology were conspecific.

Distribution. USA, Arizona: Chiricahua Mountains, Mogollon Rim.

Figures

FIGURE 193. Andricus mogollonensis Melika, Nicholls & Stone, sp. nov., galls.

FIGURES 183–188. Andricus mogollonensis Melika, Nicholls & Stone, sp. nov., female. 183–186, head: 183, frontal view, 184, dorsal view, 185, posterior view, 186, lateral view. 187, antenna. 188, mesoscutum, dorsal view.

FIGURES 189–192. Andricus mogollonensis Melika, Nicholls & Stone, sp. nov., female. 189, mesosoma, lateral view. 190, mesoscutellum, dorsal view, 191, metascutellum and propodeum, posterodorsal view. 192, forewing, part.