Coffeikokkos copeyensis Pujade-Villar & Melika

Pujade-Villar, Juli, Hanson, Paul & Melika, George, 2012, A new genus of oak gallwasp, Coffeikokkos Pujade-Villar & Melika, gen. n., with a description of a new species from Costa Rica (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae), ZooKeys 168, pp. 19-29 : 20-24

Coffeikokkos copeyensis Pujade-Villar & Melika sp. n.

Type material.

HOLOTYPE female (deposited in the collection J.P-V, UB): "COSTA RICA, San José, Cerro de la Muerte, Est. Biol. Cuericí, 2600 m, ix-1997, P. Hanson" (white label), Quercus copeyensis , red detachable stem gall" (white label), "HOLOTYPE Coffeikokkos copeyensis agam ♀ n. gen & n. sp. design. J.P-V 2011" (red label). PARATYPES (12♀): 6♀ with the same data as the holotype (3♀ UB, 2♀ PDL, 1♀ MZUCR); 2♀: "COSTA RICA San José Prov., Parque Nacional Chirripó, Llano Bonito, 2600 m, 09 º 27'16''N 83 º 32'41''W, (10.VII.2010) late ix-x-2010, Quercus copeyensis , Red berry gall" (1♀ UB, 1♀ MZUCR); 3♀: COSTA RICA, Cartago, 4 Km NE Canón Genesis II, 2300m, i.1995, P. Hanson", " Quercus copeyensis , red detachable stem gall" (2♀ PDL, 1♀ MZUCR); 1♀: "COSTA RICA San José, Cerro Muerte, 6 Km N San Gerardo, 2800m, xii.1992, Hanson & Godoy (MZUCR).

Diagnosis.

Head with piliferous punctures; antennae 16-17 segmented with F1 longer than F2; the body smooth and shiny; notauli complete, deep; propodeal carinae incomplete, not reaching the nucha; the prominent part of the ventral spine of the hypopygium longer than broad, with parallel sides for the entire length, rounded distally, with a tuft of long subapical setae.

Description.

(Figs 1-13). Asexual form.

Length.

Female 4.1-5.1 mm (n = 12).

Coloration.

(Fig. 13). Body predominantly uniformly brown; following areas dark brown to black: postocciput, postgena and postgenal bridge; propleura and anterior rim of pronotum; mesonotum ventrally, mesoscutellum, subaxillular bar, metascutellum with ventral impressed area, metanotum, metanotal trough, propodeum and nucha. Scape and pedicel always brown, flagellomeres from brown to black. Coxae and femora yellowish white, tibiae and tarsi dark brown to black. 2nd metasomal tergite always brown, subsequent tergites brown, in some paratypes lighter. Forewing with smoky areas; veins dark brown.

Head.

(Figs 1-2, 5). Narrower than mesosoma, with white sparse setae. Head ovate, 1.3-1.4 times as broad as high in anterior view and 3.7-3.8 times as broad as long in dorsal view; gena slightly broadened behind eye, smooth and shiny, punctured basally; malar space without sulcus, 0.25 times as long as eye height, with striae radiating from clypeus and nearly reaching eye margin. Lower face shiny, with deep punctures, without elevated area medially. Clypeus impressed, setose, alutaceous, rounded and slightly emarginate ventrally, medially not incised, anterior tentorial pits small, indistinct; epistomal sulcus and clypeo-pleurostomal line distinct, broad, impressed. POL:OOL:LOL=8:4:3, diameter of lateral ocellus equal OOL; frons smooth and shiny. Vertex and occiput coriaceous, with piliferous points.

Antenna.

(Fig. 3). 15 flagellomeres (rarely 14); F1 longer than F2, broader distally; subsequent flagellomeres progressively shorter, F15 longer than F14. Antennal formula: 6: 3.5( × 2.5): 13( × 2.5): 10( × 3): 8: 7: 6.5: 5.5: 5: 4.5: 4: 4: 3: 3: 3: 3: 4.5. Placodeal sensilla on F3-F15.

Mesosoma.

(Figs 2, 5, 9). Longer than high, dorsally concave in lateral view. Pronotum setose, with coriaceous sides and few weak carinae posterolaterally, anterolateral rim of pronotum strongly carinate, with deep invagination along side. Mesoscutum slightly broader than long in dorsal view, smooth, shiny, with sparse setae laterally and along notauli; notauli complete and deep, median mesoscutal line indistinct, absent or very short and superficial; parapsidal lines indistinct, anterior parallel lines differentiated by delicate sculpture. Mesopleuron smooth and shiny, with delicate setae. Mesoscutellum longer than broad in dorsal view, setose, uniformly dull rugose; scutellar foveae superficial, rugose, indistinctly delimited, almost confluent, with delicately rugose and shiny bottom; median (central) carina absent or present but inconspicuous. Propodeum alutaceous and setose; lateral propodeal carinae incomplete, not reaching nucha, nearly parallel and straight in anterior half and strongly divergent in posterior half, central propodeal area glabrous, smooth and shiny. Metascutellum subrectangular, ventrally concave, strongly coriaceous. Metanotal trough coriaceous, setose, ventral bar of metanotal trough coriaceous, higher than height of metascutellum.

Forewing.

(Fig. 10). 1.35 times longer than body, weakly brown-infuscated, pubescent, with cilia on margins; radial cell open, around 3.5 times as long as broad; veins dark brown; areolet large, triangular, closed.

Legs.

Tarsal claws simple, with broad, rounded basal part (Fig. 4).

Metasoma.

(Figs 6-8, 13). As long as head and mesosoma together, longer than high; all metasomal tergites smooth and shiny; 2nd metasomal tergite sparsely setose laterally. Prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium 2.5 times as long as wide, uniformly broad, with parallel sides, rounded distally, with tuft of long subapical setae, reaching far beyond apex of spine.

Gall.

(Figs 11-12). A spherical, slightly ovate stem gall, easily detachable when mature, about 10 mm in diameter; outer surface smooth, shiny, red; with one central larval chamber. Young galls are slightly flattened laterally, yellowish green in colour, and often found in rows along the branch, emerging from an elongated scar in the bark. Mature galls become easily detachable and fall to the leaf litter, where they resemble red coffee fruits before they fall. Adult wasps normally emerge from the galls on the ground.

Host plant.

Quercus bumelioides Liebm. (Section Quercus of Quercus ; white oaks), distributed from Mexico to Panama ( Govaerts and Frodin 1998).

Distribution.

Currently known only from Costa Rica. Very common species in the Talamanca mountain range of Costa Rica (P. Hanson, personal observation).

Biology.

Only the asexual (parthenogenetic) females are known. Mature galls were collected in September-January, and adults emerged soon after the galls were collected. Further study is necessary to determine the phenology of this species. Eurytoma sp., Sycophila sp. (both Eurytomidae ), and Torymus sp. ( Torymidae ) have been reared from these galls, but no comparisons of parasitization rates have been made with other, sympatric species of Cynipini .

Etymology.

The species is named after the junior synonym of the host plant, Quercus copeyensis , on which it induces galls and which name is still in use between the scientists of the given region.