Taxonomy and phylogeny of the Asphondylia species (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) of North American goldenrods: challenging morphology, complex host associations, and cryptic speciation
Author
Dorchin, Netta
Author
Joy, Jeffrey B.
Author
Hilke, Lukas K.
Author
Wise, Michael J.
Author
Abrahamson, Warren G.
text
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society
2015
2015-06-30
174
2
265
304
https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-lookup/doi/10.1111/zoj.12234
journal article
10.1111/zoj.12234
0024-4082
5337673
ASPHONDYLIA SILVA
DORCHIN
SP. NOV.
Host plants
Solidago caesia
.
Gall and biology
This species induces very small, single-chambered galls in apical shoot tips (
Figs 19, 20
). The gall is composed of several very short leaves that are pressed together to form a conical chamber, the internal walls of which are lined by a white layer of mycelium. Each gall contains a single larva. Galls are
4.5–7.5 mm
long and 1.5–3.0 mm wide, and are barely noticeable. They may be very common in some localities, but absent in others. The species has at least two generations between June and September; galls were first apparent in early June and adults emerged from them in early July. In early September, galls were found among flower buds on the shoot tips, and all were already empty, some with pupal skins stuck in them (
Fig. 20
). This species is heavily parasitized, and thus very few galls yielded adult midges in the laboratory. Out of six regularly surveyed localities in central PA, galls were found in only two (Shikellamy State Park and Dale’s Ridge), where they were consistently abundant.
Adult
Characters as in
A. monacha
, except for the following.
Head:
Flagellomere 1/flagellomere 5 ratio =
1.09–1.23 in
male (
N
= 3),
1.41–1.56 in
female (
N
= 4).
Thorax:
Wing length
2.37–2.63 mm
in males (
N
= 3),
2.15–2.51 in
females (
N
= 4).
Female abdomen (
Fig. 58
):
Sclerotized part of ovipositor 2.15–2.24 times as long as sternite 7 (
N
= 4).
Male terminalia (
Fig. 59
):
Aedeagus about same width throughout length, slightly tapered towards rounded apex. Hypoproct with very shallow notch apically.
Figures 55–61.
Asphondylia silva
sp. nov.
: 55, male head; 56, female head; 57, female flagellomere 5; 58, female abdomen; 59, male terminalia, dorsal; 60, 61, larval spatulae. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.
Larva (third instar)
Orange; integument covered by small bumps. Length
2.02–3.26 mm
(
N
= 6). Antennae about 1.0–1.5 times as long as wide; cephalic apodeme as long as head capsule. Spatula shape variable (
Figs 60, 61
), lateral teeth longer than median teeth, gap between median teeth as deep as, or clearly deeper than, gaps between lateral and median teeth, shaft thick and well sclerotized.
Pupa (
Figs 74, 75
)
Characters as in
A. monacha
, except for the following. Antennal horns long and slender, only slightly curved, apices pointed and finely serrated in frontal view.
Diagnosis
This is the second smallest
Asphondylia
species
from goldenrods and the only one that is found on
S. caesia
, hence it can be easily recognized from its host and tiny bud gall. Other than their size and the slightly different shape of the male hypoproct, adults of this species do not differ morphologically from those of
A. solidaginis
,
A. rosulata
sp. nov.
, and
A. pseudorosa
sp. nov.
, but molecular data consistently indicate that this is a distinct species most closely related to
A. rosulata
sp. nov.
Etymology
The name
silva
(Latin for forest) refers to the typical habitat in which this species is found.
Type material
Holotype
:
♂
,
USA
,
PA
,
Shikellamy State Park
,
30 July 2007
,
N. Dorchin
and
M.J. Wise
, from
S. caesia
bud gall (
TAUI
).
Paratypes
:
1 larva
,
USA
,
PA
,
Dale’s Ridge
,
18 June 2006
,
N. Dorchin
;
6 larvae
,
USA
,
PA
,
Dale’s Ridge
,
19 June 2006
,
N. Dorchin
; 4 exuviae,
USA
,
PA
,
Shikellamy State Park
,
30 June 2007
,
N. Dorchin
;
1 larva
,
1♂
,
USA
,
PA
,
Dale’s Ridge
,
5 July 2007
,
N. Dorchin
and
D. Ryan
; 1 exuviae
,
1♂
,
4♀
,
USA
,
PA
,
Shikellamy State Park
,
30 July 2007
,
N. Dorchin
and
M.J. Wise
(exuviae and
1♀
USNM
, others
TAUI
)
.