Feron dumosae ( Weld, 1957 ) Cuesta-Porta & Melika & Nicholls & Stone & Pujade-Villar, 2023

Cuesta-Porta, Victor, Melika, George, Nicholls, James A., Stone, Graham N. & Pujade-Villar, Juli, 2023, Re-establishment of the Nearctic oak cynipid gall wasp genus Feron Kinsey, 1937 (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini), including the description of six new species, Zootaxa 5366 (1), pp. 1-174 : 70-74

Feron dumosae ( Weld, 1957) , comb. nov.

Figs 189–202

Liodora dumosae Weld, 1957: 111 , female, male and gall.

Types examined. One paratype sexual female and gall “Stanford Univ. California. May 10”, “ Quercus dumosa ”, “1758”, red label “ Paratype No. 63009 USNM ”. Specimen data and images available at http://n 2t.net/ark:/65665/ 3c1624a96-f517-4880-83da-c8c458cfaf3a

Diagnosis. Sexual females of this species are characterised by the brown to chestnut brown body, rarely darker; inner margins of eyes parallel or only slightly converging ventrally; the frons is flat, not or only slightly bulging in frontal view; the mesoscutum is smooth or partially alutaceous anteriorly and glabrous; the mesoscutellum with irregular rugae at least in lateral and posterior parts, sometimes dorsocentral part smooth, shining, without piliferous points; as in F. amphorus (asex), F. clarkei (sex) and F. crystallinum (sex). Differs from F. amphorus and F. clarkei in the transfacial distance which is as long as or slightly shorter than the height of eye, the eye more than 3.6× as high as length of the malar space; the pronotum laterally with short carinae only along posterior margin. Differs from F. crystallinum in the characters mentioned at couplet 19 in the key. Males are characterised by a brown or chestnut brown body, the notaulus reaching the pronotum, the mesoscutellum with irregular rugae at least in lateral and posterior parts without piliferous points; as in F. clarkei . However, in F. dumosae F1 1.6× as long as F2 (1.3× as long as F 2 in F. clarkei ) and the transfacial distance as long as or slightly shorter than the height of eye (longer than the height of the eye in F. clarkei ).

Re-description. Sexual female ( Figs 189–201 ). Head, mesosoma, metasoma dark brown to brown, antenna, mouthparts and legs yellow, with slightly darker coxae.

Head alutaceous, with sparse white setae on lower face, 1.2× as broad as high and slightly broader than mesosoma in frontal view, 2.0× as broad as long in dorsal view. Gena alutaceous, not broadened behind eye in frontal view, narrower than transverse diameter of eye in lateral view. Malar space alutaceous, shining, with delicate striae radiating from clypeus and reaching eye, malar sulcus absent; eye 3.6× as high as length of malar space. Eyes slightly converging ventrally. POL 2.0× as long as OOL, OOL 1.6× as long as diameter of lateral ocellus and slightly longer than LOL, all ocelli ovate, of same size. Transfacial distance as long as height of eye or slightly shorter; diameter of antennal torulus as long as distance between them, distance between torulus and eye 1.3× as long as diameter of torulus; lower face alutaceous, glabrous, without white setae, without striae; slightly elevated median area alutaceous, glabrous, without setae. Clypeus rectangular, nearly 2.0× as broad as high, smooth, with long setae; ventrally rounded, not emarginate and without median incision; anterior tentorial pit large, rounded, indistinct, epistomal sulcus distinct, clypeo-pleurostomal line inconspicuous. Frons uniformly alutaceous, without striae and setae, interocellar area alutaceous. Vertex and occiput alutaceous, with sparse white setae; postocciput smooth, glabrous; postgena in the most part delicately coriaceous, smooth and glabrous along occipital foramen, postgenal bridge and hypostomata; posterior tentorial pit large, ovate, area below impressed; occipital foramen as high as height of postgenal bridge; hypostomal carina emarginate, continuing into postgenal sulci which diverge strongly toward occipital foramen, postgenal bridge anteriorly as broad as occipital foramen. Antenna longer than head+mesosoma, with 12 flagellomeres, pedicel slightly longer than broad, flagellomeres slightly broadened towards apex; F1 2.0× as long as pedicel and 1.2× as long as F2; F2 1.2× as long as F3; F3=F4, F5=F6=F7, subsequent flagellomeres shorter, nearly equal in length; placodeal sensilla indistinct on all flagellomeres.

Mesosoma slightly longer than high, with sparse white setae, denser on lateral propodeal area. Pronotum smooth, shining, with sparse white setae, with some delicate striae anteroventrally; propleuron delicately coriaceous. Mesoscutum alutaceous in anterior half, smooth, shining posteriorly between notauli and alongside notauli, with sparse white setae, slightly longer than broad (greatest width measured across mesoscutum level with base of tegulae). Notaulus complete, shallow, hardly traceable in anterior part, bottom smooth, posteriorly broader and slightly converging; anterior parallel line indistinct, marked with smooth line, extending to 1/3 of mesoscutum length; parapsidal line distinct, marked with smooth line; median mesoscutal line absent; parascutal carina broad, reaching notaulus. Mesoscutellum trapezoid, slightly longer than broad, glabrous, shining, with net of irregular rugae, posteriorly rounded, overhanging metanotum. Mesoscutellar foveae separated by narrow elevated coriaceous central carina, ovate, with smooth, glabrous bottom. Mesopleuron smooth, shining, with delicate transverse subparallel striae in central part, absent aneriorly; speculum smooth, shining; mesopleural triangle smooth, with some delicate striae and sparse white setae; dorsal and lateral axillar areas delicately coriaceous, with a few white setae; subaxillular bar smooth, glabrous, with parallel sides, as high as height of metanotal trough, slightly higher at posterior end; metapleural sulcus reaching mesopleuron slightly above half of its height, delimiting coriaceous area, upper part of sulcus distinct. Metascutellum smooth, glabrous, slightly shorter than height of smooth, glabrous ventral impressed area; metanotal trough smooth, glabrous, without setae; central propodeal area delicately coriaceous, with a few irregular rugae; lateral propodeal carinae bent slightly outwards at mid-height; lateral propodeal area smooth, shining, with sparse white setae on piliferous points. Nucha very short with numerous sulci dorsally and laterally. Tarsal claws toothed, with basal lobe.

Fore wing longer than body, hyaline, with cilia on margin, veins light brown, hardly visible, radial cell open, 4.6× as long as broad; R1 and Rs reaching wing margin; areolet small, distinct. Rs+M narrow, visible along 1/2 of distance between areolet and basalis, its projection reaching basalis at its mid height.

Metasoma as long as head+mesosoma, longer than high in lateral view; 2nd metasomal tergum extending to 2/3 length of metasoma in dorsal view, without setae and micropunctures; all terga smooth, glabrous, without micropunctures. Hypopygium without micropunctures, prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium short, slightly longer than broad in ventral view, without setae.

Body length 1.4–2.2 mm (n = 7) ( Weld 1957).

Male. Similar to female, but antenna with 13 flagellomeres, F1 1.6× as long as F2, slightly curved and excavated. Body length 1.5–1.75 mm.

Gall ( Fig. 202 ). Small, 2–3 mm, conical gall on leaf edge, slightly pubescent, fresh galls red-pinkish to pale brown, leaf blade twists slightly at the gall. The gall is difficult to distinguish from other similar sexual galls of F. comatum , F. crystallinum and F. kingi .

Biology. Rosenthal (1968) and Rosenthal & Koehler (1971) erroneously stated that Liodora dumosae was the sexual generation of Andricus kingi . Dailey & Menke (1980) subsequently corrected this mistake by demonstrating that Rosenthal & Koehler had mis-identified their sexual generation wasps as L. dumosae and instead had reared the then unknown sexual generation of A. kingi . Evans (1972) proposed that L. dumosae was the sexual generation of Andricus pattersonae and transferred the later to Liodora under the new name combination L. pattersonae ; this error was reiterated by Dailey & Menke (1980). However, this matching with A. pattersonae is in disagreement with genetic data presented herein (see under F. pattersonae ), nor did Evans perform any rigorous biological experiments to match generations. In addition, Evans appears to have mis-identifed his asexual generation galls ( Fig 15 of Evans 1972) as they are too small and pale to be those of A. pattersonae and instead look like those of the new species F. rucklei described herein. Thus, until rigorous rearing experiments are conducted or genetic data are obtained, we consisder Feron dumosae to be a valid distinct species known only from its sexual generation.

Galls occur on multiple oaks from section Quercus , subsection Dumosae: Q. douglasii , Q. dumosa , Q. garryana and Q. lobata . They mature in May and adults emerge soon after.

Distribution. USA: California.

Figures

FIGURES 189–194. Feron dumosae, comb. nov., sexual female. 189–192, head: 189, frontal view, 190, dorsal view, 191, lateral view, 192, posterior view. 193, antenna. 194, mesosoma and propleura, frontal view.

FIGURES 195–198. Feron dumosae, comb. nov., sexual female. 195, mesosoma, lateral view. 196, mesoscutum, dorsal view. 197, mesoscutellum, dorsal view. 198, metascutellum and propodeum, posterodorsal view.

FIGURES 199–202. Feron dumosae, comb. nov., sexual generation. 199–201, sexual female: 199, fore wing, 200, metasoma, lateral view, 201, general habitus, lateral view. 202, gall.

FIGURES 13–18. Feron amphorus, comb. nov., asexual female. 13–16, head: 13, frontal view, 14, dorsal view, 15, lateral view, 16, posterior view. 17, antenna. 18, mesosoma and propleura, frontal view.