Feron izabellae Melika, Nicholls & Stone, 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 : 79-82

Feron izabellae Melika, Nicholls & Stone , sp. nov.

Figs 216–227

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:809B97CC-BE9E-4B10-A15E-9A83E0D6B97F

Type material. HOLOTYPE: Asexual female “ USA, CA, Friday Ridge Road, CA, Q. garryana, CA1600 ”, coll. 20.09.2014, leg. J. DeMartini. PARATYPES (4 asexual females) “ USA, CA, Lake Berry Essa Napa County, Q. berberidifolia, CA1752 , coll. 27.10.2016, leg. J.DeMartini ”, “ USA, CA, Inspiration Point , Covelo, Q. durata, CA1792 , coll. 11.10.2011, leg. J.DeMartini ”; “ USA, CA, Q. durata, CA1820 , leg. J.DeMartini ”; USA, CA , Middletown , Lake County, CA2386 , Q. durata , coll. 29.10.2014, leg. J.DeMartini ”. The holotype and one paratype female are deposited at the USNM , 2 female paratypes at the PHDNRL , 1 female paratype at the UB .

Etymology. Named in memory of the author G. Melika’s mother, Izabella, and in honour of G. Melika’s granddaughter who carries on the Izabella name.

Diagnosis. The asexual form of this species belongs to the Feron group in which the pronotum is laterally smooth to coriaceous, without carinae, and the mesoscutum is alutaceous to coriaceous, rugose-reticulate, or reticulate, sometimes with smooth areas and piliferous points, glabrous or pubescent; as in F. atrimentum (asex), F. crystallinum (asex), F. pattersonae (asex), and F. sulfureum (asex). It differs from those species in the following combination of characters: the frons is bulging in frontal view; ocelli are not elevated above the head, the transfacial distance is 1.4× as long as the height of eye, the eyes slightly convergent ventrally, and the metapleural sulcus reaching the mesopleuron on the upper 2/3 of its height. The most similar species is F. albicomus (asex) from which F. izabellae differs in having the head and mesosoma amber, the median mesoscutal line absent, mesoscutellar foveae divided by an elevated coriaceous triangle, and ventral spine of hypopygium 8.0× as long as broad in ventral view.

Description. Asexual female ( Figs 216–226 ). Head, antenna, mouthparts, mesosoma, legs, metasoma uniformly light brown to yellowish; head posteriorly slightly darker.

Head alutaceous-reticulate, with denser setae on lower face, slightly higher than broad and as broad as mesosoma in frontal view; 1.9× as broad as long in dorsal view. Gena alutaceous-reticulate, slightly broadened behind eye in frontal view; gena in lateral view slightly narrower than transverse diameter of eye. Malar space delicately coriaceous, with striae radiating from clypeus and not reaching eye, malar sulcus absent; eye 2.7× as high as length of malar space. Inner margins of eyes slightly converging ventrally. POL 1.5× as long as OOL, OOL 2.5× as long as diameter of lateral ocellus and 1.3x as long as LOL, all ocelli ovate, of same size. Antennal toruli located above mid-height of eyes. Transfacial distance 1.6× as long as height of eye; frons nearly as high as height of lower face, diameter of antennal torulus 2.1× as long as distance between them, distance between torulus and eye equal to diameter of torulus; lower face alutaceous, with setae; slightly elevated median area and area between toruli delicately coriaceous, with a few setae. Clypeus impressed, flat, 2.0× as broad as high, smooth, with a few long setae along ventral edge; ventrally rounded, not emarginate and without median incision; anterior tentorial pit rounded, distinct, small; epistomal sulcus distinct, clypeo-pleurostomal line well impressed. Frons, interocellar area, vertex and occiput uniformly alutaceous-reticulate, without striae and setae; postocciput and postgena alutaceous, with dense white setae; posterior tentorial pit large, elongated, area below impressed; occipital foramen shorter than height of postgenal bridge; hypostomal carina emarginate, continuing into postgenal sulci which diverge strongly toward occipital foramen, postgenal bridge anteriorly slightly broader than occipital foramen. Antenna longer than head+mesosoma, with 12 flagellomeres, pedicel longer than broad; F1 1.3× as long as F2 and more than 1.9× as long as pedicel; F2 longer than F3, F4 slightly longer than F5, F6=F7=F8, subsequent flagellomeres nearly equal in length; F12=F11, placodeal sensilla on F6–F12.

Mesosoma slightly longer than high, without setae. Pronotum glabrous, with delicate short inconspicuous parallel striae along posterior edge, with piliferous points; propleuron smooth, with sparse short setae. Mesoscutum uniformly alutaceous-reticulate, slightly longer than broad (greatest width measured across mesoscutum level with base of tegulae). Notaulus complete, distinctly impressed along entire length; posteriorly converging; at posterior end the distance between notauli shorter than distance between notaulus and side of mesoscutum; anterior parallel line, parapsidal and median mesoscutal line absent; parascutal carina narrow, reaching notaulus. Mesoscutellum slightly longer than broad, with subparallel sides; central part of mesoscutellum disk coriaceous, along sides and posteriorly with strong rugae, overhanging metanotum, with sparse setae. Mesoscutellar foveae distinct, slightly impressed smooth, glabrous, with elevated central carina. Mesopleuron smooth, alutaceous only in most anterodorsal part; speculum smooth, glabrous; mesopleural triangle smooth, with white setae; dorsal and lateral axillar areas smooth, with white setae; axillula with delicate parallel longitudinal striae; subaxillular bar smooth, glabrous, with subparallel sides, posteriorly as high as height of metanotal trough; metapleural sulcus reaching mesopleuron slightly above half of its height; upper part of sulcus indistinct; lower part of sulcus delimiting smooth area with dense long white setae. Metascutellum smooth, glabrous, as high as height of smooth, glabrous ventral impressed area; metanotal trough smooth, glabrous, with white setae; central propodeal area lyre-shaped, smooth, glabrous, without rugae; lateral propodeal carinae distinct, bent outwards in posterior 1/3 of its height; lateral propodeal area smooth, with long dense white setae. Nucha with longitudinal sulci dorsally and laterally. Tarsal claws with strong basal lobe.

Fore wing longer than body, hyaline, with short cilia on margin, veins indistinct, yellowish to pale brown, radial cell open, 4.5× as long as broad; Rs and R1 nearly reaching wing margin; areolet small, triangular, indistinct. Rs+M indistinct, not reaching basalis, its projection reaching basalis in upper half.

Metasoma longer than head+mesosoma, slightly longer than high in lateral view; 2nd metasomal tergum extending to 1/3 length of metasoma in dorsal view, with numerous white setae anterolaterally, without micropunctures; all subsequent terga without micropunctures. Hypopygium without micropunctures, prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium 5.3× as long as broad in ventral view, with a few long white setae ventrally.

Body length 1.5–1.8 mm (n = 5).

Gall ( Fig. 227 ). A small (up to 5mm diameter) monolocular spangle gall on the underside of leaves. Initially a disc-shaped gall lying flat against the leaf surface, pink in middle and around the edge with cream circle in between. When galls mature the opposite sides of the disc fold up and touch. Informally called the pink bowtie gall wasp in Russo (2006, 2021).

Biology. Only the asexual generation is known which induces spangle leaf galls on Q. berberidifolia , Q. douglasii , Q. dumosa (= Q. durata ), Q. garryana (all section Quercus , subsection Dumosae). Galls mature in September–October. Adults emerge soon afterwards.

Distribution. USA: CA (authors).

Figures

FIGURES 216–221. Feron izabellae, sp. nov., asexual female. 216–219, head: 216, frontal view, 217, dorsal view, 218, lateral view, 219, posterior view. 220, antenna. 221, mesosoma and propleura, frontal view.

FIGURES 222–225. Feron izabellae, sp. nov., asexual female. 222, mesosoma, lateral view. 223, mesoscutum, dorsal view. 224, mesoscutellum, dorsal view. 225, metascutellum and propodeum, posterodorsal view.

FIGURES 226–227. Feron izabellae, sp. nov., asexual generation. 226, asexual female, metasoma, lateral view. 227, galls (images courtesy of J. Gross).