Synophrus politus Hartig, 1843

Shachar, Einat, Melika, George, Inbar, Moshe & Dorchin, Netta, 2018, The oak gall wasps of Israel (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae, Cynipini) - diversity, distribution and life history, Zootaxa 4521 (4), pp. 451-498 : 480

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4521.4.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:A4FD6137-25B0-43D5-845B-B4FDF4E9F5D7
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/AC1F87FE-FFF9-FF9B-FF61-FF7FFD77B5DD
treatment provided by	Plazi (2019-03-26 18:17:11, last updated 2019-03-26 19:53:43)
scientific name	Synophrus politus Hartig, 1843
status

Treatment

Host plants. Israel: Q. ithaburensis . Elsewhere: several species from section Cerris.

Host gall-wasp. The sexual generation invades galls of species in the Andricus burgundus complex ( Pénzes et al. 2009).

Life history. Known only from the sexual generation, which develops in galls induced by the Andricus burgundus complex (e.g., A. caputmedusae , A. coriarius , A. curtisii ) ( Pujade-Villar et al. 2003a; Pénzes et al. 2009). In Israel, this species has been reared from the clustered, conical bud galls of A. coriarius ( Fig. 52 View FIGURES 47–52 ), causing them to develop into a single spherical unilocular gall, up to 15 mm in diameter, of the same color of the branch, with very hard walls encircling a single larval chamber ( Fig. 41 View FIGURES 41–46 ; Sternlicht 1968b, Figs 13, 15–17 View FIGURES 11–16 View FIGURES 17–22 ). Invaded galls were found in February and adult inquilines emerged in December-January.

Distribution. Israel: Mezar, Hosha’aya, Alonim, Tiv’on, Hasharon Forest. Elsewhere: Northwest Africa to Iran.

Comments. The galls of this species resemble somewhat those of Aphelonys persica but A. persica galls are light brown, with more delicate and sometimes wrinkled surface ( Fig. 37 View FIGURES 35–40 ), whereas S. politus galls are of the same color of the branches, rougher and more rigid. Moreover, A. persica galls are hollow and thin-walled ( Fig. 38 View FIGURES 35–40 ) relative to the very thick-walled galls of S. politus .

References

Hartig, T. (1843) Zweiter nachtrag zur naturgeschichte der Gallwespen. Zeitschrift fur Entomologie, 4, 395 - 422.

Penzes, Z., Melika, G., Bozsoki, Z., Bihari, P., Miko, I., Tavakoli, M., Pudje-Villar, J., Feher, B., Fulop, D., Szabo, K., Bozso, M., Sipos, B., Somogyi, K. & Stone, G. (2009) Systematic re-appraisal of the gall-usurping wasp genus Synophrus Hartig, 1843 (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Synergini). Systematic Entomology, 34, 688 - 711. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1365 - 3113.2009.00482. x

Pujade-Villar, J., Melika, G., Ros-Farre, P., Acs, Z. & Csoka, G. (2003 a) Cynipid inquiline wasps of Hungary, with taxonomic notes on the Western Palaearctic fauna (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae, Cynipinae, Synergini). Folia Entomologica Hungarica, 64, 121 - 170.

Sternlicht, M. (1968 b) The oak galls of Israel (Quercus calliprinos Webb, and Quercus ithaburensis Decne.). Israel Journal of Entomology, 3, 17 - 57.

Figures

FIGURES 47–52. Sexual generation galls on Quercus ithaburensis. 47. Andricus cecconii; 48. Same, old gall; 49. Andricus grossulariae, young galls; 50. Andricus grossulariae, old galls (arrow); 51. Andricus vindobonensis; 52. Andricus coriarius.

FIGURES 41–46. Galls on Quercus ithaburensis. 41. Synophrus politus, sexual generation; 42. Synophrus olivieri sexual generation; 43. Andricus miriami, asexual generation; 44. Same, old gall; 45. Chilaspis israeli, sexual generation; 46. Dryocosmus mayri, sexual generation.

FIGURES 11–16. Asexual generation galls on Quercus boissieri. 11. Andricus curtisii; 12. Andricus chodjaii; 13. Andricus quercustozae, young gall; 14. Andricus quercustozae, mature gall; 15. Andricus coriarius, mature gall; 16. Andricus coriarius, old gall.

FIGURES 17–22. Galls on Quercus boissieri. 17. Andricus coriariformis, asexual generation; 18. Andricus moreae, asexual generation; 19. Andricus sp. 1, asexual generation; 20. Andricus sternlichti, asexual generation; 21. Andricus megatruncicolus, asexual generation; 22. Biorhiza pallida, sexual generation.

FIGURES 35–40. Galls on Quercus boissieri and Q. ithaburensis. 35. Neuroterus quercsbaccarum, asexual generation on Quercus boissieri; 36. Neuroterus quercsbaccarum (A) and Neuroterus numismalis (B), asexual generations on Q. boissieri; 37. Aphelonyx persica, asexual generation on Quercus ithaburensis; 38. Aphelonyx persica, asexual generation on Quercus ithaburensis, gall dissected to show inner chamber; 39. Aphelonyx persica gall ivaded by the inquiline Synergus variabilis on Quercus ithaburensis; 40. Same, old gall with emergence holes of inquilines.