Synergus citriformis ( Ashmead, 1885 )

Lobato-Vila, Irene & Pujade-Villar, Juli, 2021, The genus Synergus Hartig (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Synergini) in the New World: a complete taxonomic revision with a key to species, Zootaxa 4906 (1), pp. 1-121 : 29

Synergus citriformis ( Ashmead, 1885)

Ceroptres citriformis Ashmead, 1885 . Trans. Am. Entomol. Soc. 12: 300. Type material: USNM.

Synergus niger Fullaway, 1911 . Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 4: 369. Type material: CAS (lectotype), paralectotypes in CAS and USNM. Synonymized by Lobato-Vila et al. (2020b: 683).

Synergus citriformis: Weld (1922) . Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 61 (18): 26.

Synergus elegans Nieves-Aldrey & Medianero, 2011 . Zootaxa 2774: 4. Type material: MNCN (holotype), paratypes in MNCN and MEUP. Synonymized by Lobato-Vila & Pujade-Villar (2017: 6).

Diagnosis. See Lobato-Vila et al. (2020c: 14).

Distribution. USA: Florida and California ( Ashmead 1885; Fullaway 1911; McCracken & Egbert 1922); Panama ( Nieves-Aldrey & Medianero 2011); and Mexico: Aguascalientes, Ciudad de México, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, México, Michoacán, Morelos, Oaxaca, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, and Zacatecas ( Lobato-Vila & Pujade-Villar 2017; Lobato-Vila et al. 2020b, 2020c).

Biology. Synergus citriformis is considered a generalist species, even though it is mainly associated with galls of Amphibolips on oaks within the Lobatae section. Found also in association with woolly galls initiated by Andricus , Striatoandricus (arisen by Cuesta-Porta et al. (2020) to include some previously known species within Andricus ) and Cynips , and with other gall morphotypes (never tuberous galls) initiated by Andricus , Atrusca , Cynips , Disholcaspis , Dros , and Loxaulus on oaks of both Quercus and Lobatae sections ( Ashmead 1885; McCracken & Egbert 1922; Nieves-Aldrey & Medianero 2011; Lobato-Vila & Pujade-Villar 2017; Lobato-Vila et al. 2020b, 2020c).

Remarks. The type material of both Ceroptres citriformis and of one its synonyms, Synergus elegans , was examined and the species was treated by Lobato-Vila & Pujade-Villar (2017: 6), as well as treated by Lobato-Vila & Pujade-Villar (2018: 437) and Lobato-Vila et al. (2020b: 683, 2020c: 14). The type material of Synergus niger was examined, commented on, and illustrated by Lobato-Vila et al. (2020b: 683).