Andricus schoenroggei Melika & Stone, 2008

Tavakoli, M., Melika, G., Sadeghi, S. E., Pénzes, Z., Assareh, M. A., Atkinson, R., Bechtold, M., Mikó, I., Zargaran, M. R., Aligolizade, D., Barimani, H., Bihari, P., Pirozi, F., Fülöp, D., Somogyi, K., Challis, R., Preuss, S., Nicholls, J. & Stone, G. N., 2008, New species of oak gallwaps from Iran (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini), Zootaxa 1699 (1), pp. 1-64 : 8-10

Andricus schoenroggei Melika & Stone , new species

Figs 35–50

Type material. HOLOTYPE female: IRAN, Kermanshah, Gahvareh and Javanrod, X-XI.2005. Q. infectoria . Leg. M. Tavakoli. Lor 153 . PARATYPES: 31 females with the same labels as the holotype. The holotype and 5 female paratypes in HNHM ; 5 female paratypes in RIFR ; 16 female paratypes in SPL; 6 female paratypes in NHML .

Etymology. In recognition of the continuing contribution of Dr. Karsten Schönrogge (Centre of Ecology and Hydrology, Dorchester, Dorset, U.K.) to research on oak gallwasps.

Diagnosis. Most closely resembles Andricus sieboldi (Hartig) and A. quercuscorticis (Linnaeus) . How- ever, in A. sieboldi lateral propodeal carinae are strongly diverging anteriorly and curved inwards posteriorly, while in A. schoenroggei , new species, the lateral propodeal carinae are subparallel, only slightly curved outwards in the posterior 1/3. In A. quercuscorticis the frons and vertex are without punctures; the mesoscutellum rugose, scutellar foveae distinctly impressed, only slightly broader than high, well-separated from the disk of the mesoscutellum posteriorly separated by a narrow carina, while in A. schoenroggei , new species, the frons and vertex usually are with some indistinct punctures; the mesoscutellum uniformly delicately coriaceous; scutellar foveae indistinctly separated from the disk posteriorly, very narrow, separated by a broad carina.

Description. ASEXUAL FEMALE (holotype). Body reddish brown, except dark brown to black head posteriorly, scutellar foveae, metascutellum and propodeum. Legs slightly lighter than body, except darker tibiae and tarsi. Compound eyes silvery. Wing veins dark brown. Body with relatively sparse white setae.

Head delicately coriaceous, with dense white setae, especially on lower face; 2.1 times as broad as long from above; 1.4 times as broad as high in front view and slightly broader than mesosoma. Gena delicately coriaceous, strongly broadened behind eye, well-visible in front view behind eye, as broad as cross diameter of eye, measuring behind eye. Malar space coriaceous, 0.4 times as long as height of eye, with delicate short striae radiating from clypeus and extending to half length of malar space. POL 1.6 times as long as OOL; OOL 1.6 times as long as length of lateral ocellus and 1.3 times as long as LOL. Transfacial distance 1.2 times as long as height of eye and 1.6 times as long as height of lower face (distance between antennal rim and ventral margin of clypeus); diameter of antennal torulus 2.7 times as large as distance between them; distance between torulus and eye margin slightly longer than diameter of torulus. Inner margins of eyes very slightly diverging ventrally. Lower face delicately coriaceous, without punctures, with elevated delicately coriaceous median area, with dense white setae, without striae. Clypeus trapezoid, smooth, impressed, nearly 2.0 times as broad as high, with distinct anterior tentorial pits, deeply impressed epistomal sulcus and clypeo-pleurostomal line;ventrally rounded, broadly emarginated, with dense long setae and without incision medially. Frons delicately coriaceous, with some sparse indistinct punctures; vertex and occiput uniformly delicately coriaceous, without punctures. Antenna with 11 flagellomeres, slightly shorter than head+mesosoma; pedicel 1.4 times as long as broad; F1 slightly longer than F2, F2 1.3 times as long as F3; subsequent flagellomeres shorter; F11 2.1 times as long as F10; placodeal sensilla on F4–F11. Mesosoma convex, slightly longer than high in lateral view, with relatively sparse white setae. Pronotum delicately and uniformly coriaceous, with some delicate wrinkles along antero-lateral edge only, with dense white setae along anterior edge. Mesoscutum with distinct, relatively dense punctures, interspaces between punctures shining and smoth, alutaceous or weakly coriaceous; punctures separated from each other by a distance not more than the diameter of puncture, often much closer. Notauli complete, well-impressed in all length, converging posteriorly, smooth, shining; median mesoscutal line extending nearly to half length of mesoscutum; anterior parallel and parapsidal lines distinct, extending to 1/2 of mesoscutum length. Mesoscutellum 1.7 times shorter than mesoscutum, slightly longer than broad, with parallel lateral sides, rounded posteriorly, uniformly delicately coriaceous; slightly overhanging metanotum. Scutellar foveae transverse, broader than high, posteriorly delimited by structure, with smooth, shining bottom; separated by distinct, broad, delicately coriaceous central carina. Mesopleuron alutaceous, smooth, shiny, speculum with dense white setae; mesopleural triangle smooth, with relatively dense white setae, with delicate longitudinal irregular wrinkles. Metapleural sulcus reaching mesopleuron slightly above half of its height; axillula ovate, shining, smooth, with very dense white setae; subaxillular bar smooth, shining, in the most posterior end broader than height of metanotal trough; propodeal spiracle elevated, slightly ovate; area between spiracle and metapleural sulcus with few weak irregular striae on shining background; ventral bar of metanotal trough delicately coriaceous, at least 3.0 times narrower than height of metanotal trough measuring above propodeal spiracle. Metascutellum coriaceous, nearly as high as height of ventral impressed area; metanotal trough smooth, shining, with sparse white setae; ventral impressed area smooth, shining, with some delicate wrinkles. Lateral propodeal carinae subparallel, slightly curved outwards in posterior 1/3; uniformly broad, with few setae anteriorly; central propodeal area smooth, shiny, with numer- ous delicate irregular wrinkles, with very few sparse white setae in the antero-lateral quarters; lateral propodeal area delicately uniformly coriaceous, with dense white setae. Forewing much longer than body, with distinct brown veins, wing margin with short cilia; radial cell 3.75 times as long as broad, areolet distinct, Rs+M extending to 2/3 of distance between areolet and basalis, projecting into the middle of it. Tarsal claws with relatively small basal lobe. Metasoma nearly as long as head+mesosoma, higher than long in lateral view; metasomal tergite 2 with patch of dense white setae antero-laterally, without micropunctures; subsequent tergites and hypopygium without micropunctures; prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium slen- der, 5.3 times as long as broad, with few short white setae, few apical setae long, extending beyond apex of spine. Body length 3.8–4.3 mm.

Gall ( Figs 46–50 ). Galls are shallowly embedded in the bark, found on roots or close to the ground (up to 35 cm above soil surface); on branches 2–5 years old buried in leaves; on regrowth shoots; in the axils of suckers around stumps. The stem (root) becomes swollen around the galls. Galls spherical or conical in shape, 3.0–5.0 mm in diameter and 1.5–4.5 mm high and found in tight groups, pea-sized with a grooved surface. Rarely singly, generally in dense aggregations of galls at different stages of development. Usually a gall aggregation is 3–7 cm long and 1.5–3.5 cm wide. The gall is brown, with hard, lignified walls. Gall outer wall is reddish purple and fleshy when young, hardening later and becoming brown. Longitudinally grooved from the tip. The adult exit hole can be seen on the top or side of the gall.

Biology. Only the asexual generation is known from galls on Quercus infectoria Olivier. The gall starts to develop in the first half of summer, and rapidly completes its development. Galls were collected on roots and subterranean branches by the end of November; adults emerge in November–January. Rare.

Distribution. Iran, Kermanshah, Province, Gahvareh and Javanrod.

Figures

FIGURES 35–45. Andricus schoenroggei, new species, asexual female: 35, head (front view); 36, head (dorsal view); 37, head (lateral view); 38, antenna; 39, mesoscutum and mesoscutellum (dorsal view); 40, mesosoma (lateral view); 41, metanotum and propodeum (postero-dorsal view); 42, hind tarsal claw; 43, forewing; 44, metasoma (lateral view); 45, prominent part of the ventral spine of hypopygium (ventral view).

FIGURES 46–50. Andricus schoenroggei, new species, gall (photos M. Tavakoli).