Feron scutellum ( Weld, 1930 ) 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 : 110-113

Feron scutellum ( Weld, 1930) , comb. nov.

Figs 324–328

Andricus scutella Weld, 1930: 29 , female, gall.

Type material. HOLOTYPE. Asexual female “ Camp Creek , Arizona ”, “ N.M. Capron Coll. ”, “ Andricus scutella Weld ”, “cut out December”, red label “Type No. 42885 USNM ” . PARATYPES (9 asexual females) labelled as the holotype, deposited in the collection of USNM. The female holotype and six paratypes are in the collection of the USNM, examined by VC-P. The type was examined based on photos taken by M. Buffington, USNM. Specimen data and images available at http://n 2t.net/ark:/65665/34db243c6-9449-4191-b59f-2cd26d2e18ab .

Diagnosis. Asexual females belong to the group of Feron species in which the body is reddish brown; the head is rounded in frontal view, ocelli are not elevated above the frons; inner margins of eyes slightly converging ventrally, the transfacial distance is longer than the height of eye; toruli are located above mid-height of eyes; the eye is less than 2.6× as high as length of the malar space; as in F. bakkeri (asex), F. rucklei (asex), and F. stellare (asex). Differs from F. bakkeri in having the mesoscutellar foveae distinct, but not defined posteriorly, with smooth bottom, and central part of mesoscutellar disk elevated and faintly reticulate, while the foveae are inconspicuous and faintly rugose and the mesoscutellar disk completely rugose in F. bakkeri . It differs from F. stellare and F. rucklei in having the disk of mesoscutellum faintly reticulated with the central part elevated, while it is coarsely rugose and not elevated in F. stellare and F. rucklei .

The gall resembles those of Phylloteras cupella ( Weld, 1926) , but lacks the in-rolled top margin and has a removable whitish bloom.

Re-description. Asexual female ( Figs 324–327 ). Head, antenna, mesosoma, legs, metasoma uniformly reddish brown; base of metasoma and mesoscutellum lighter.

Head alutaceous-reticulate, with dense setae on lower face, slightly higher than broad and as broad as mesosoma in frontal view; 2.0× as broad as long in dorsal view. Gena alutaceous-reticulate, not broadened behind eye in frontal view; gena in lateral view 2.0× narrower than transverse diameter of eye. Malar space delicately coriaceous, without striae, malar sulcus absent; eye 2.1× as high as length of malar space. Inner margins of eyes converging ventrally. POL 1.9× as long as OOL, OOL 2.1× as long as diameter of lateral ocellus and slightly shorter than LOL, all ocelli ovate, of same size. Antennal toruli located at mid-height of eyes. Transfacial distance 1.4× as long as height of eye; frons shorter than height of lower face, diameter of antennal torulus 3.0× as long as distance between them, distance between torulus and eye 1.5× as long as diameter of torulus; lower face smooth, with scattered setae; slightly elevated median area and area between toruli smooth with piliferous points, with a few setae. Clypeus impressed, flat, rectangular, broader than 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. Antenna slightly shorter than body, with 11 flagellomeres, pedicel slightly longer than broad; F1 1.2× as long as F2 and above 2.0× as long as pedicel; F2 longer than F3, F4 slightly longer than F5, all subsequent flagellomeres nearly equal in length; placodeal sensilla on F3–F11.

Mesosoma nearly as long as high, without setae. Pronotum glabrous, with delicate short parallel striae along posterior edge, with piliferous points. Mesoscutum uniformly 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 indistinct; parapsidal line marked with indistinct, narrow smooth, impressed area; median mesoscutal line absent; parascutal carina broad, reaching notaulus. Mesoscutellum slightly longer than broad, with subparallel sides; disk of mesoscutellum faintly rugose on lateral and posterior margins, central part of disk faintly reticulate, and elevated after central carina of mesusctellar foveae, overhanging metanotum, with sparse setae. Mesoscutellar foveae not defined posteriorly, smooth, glabrous, with central carina. Mesopleuron smooth, alutaceous only on most anterior part; speculum smooth, glabrous, with transverse striae on most anterior part; mesopleural triangle smooth, with a few 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 at half of its height; upper part of sulcus indistinct; lower part of sulcus delimiting smooth area with dense long white setae. Metascutellum dull alutaceous, glabrous, 1.5× longer than height of smooth, glabrous ventral impressed area; metanotal trough smooth, glabrous, without 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 irregular sulci laterally. Tarsal claws with basal lobe.

Fore wing longer than body, hyaline, with cilia on margin, veins yellowish brown, radial cell open, 5.0× as long as broad; Rs and R1 nearly reaching wing margin; areolet distinct. Rs+M colourless, indistinctly reaching basalis, basalis slightly elongated on contact point.

Metasoma as long as head+mesosoma, as long as high in lateral view; 2nd metasomal tergum extending to 2/3 length of metasoma in dorsal view, with numerous white setae anterolaterally, with band of rare micropunctures posteriorly; all subsequent terga with rare micropunctures. Hypopygium without micropunctures, prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium 5.8× as long as broad in ventral view, with numerous long white setae ventrally.

Body length 1.6–2.15 mm (n = 4).

Gall ( Fig. 328 ). A cup-shaped leaf spangle gall, up to 4.5 mm in diameter and 3.5 mm high, purple-brown with a whitish bloom, attached to under side of leaf. The edge of the cup is thin, not in-rolled. The larval cell is 2 mm long by 0.7 mm in diameter and lies transversely at the very base of the cup. The exit hole is into the bottom of cup.

Biology. The asexual generation is only known, which induces galls on Q. gambelii (section Quercus , subsection Dumosae) and Q. turbinella (section Quercus , subsection Leucomexicana). Galls mature in late autumn, and adults were cut out from galls in December-January ( Weld 1930).

Distribution. USA: AZ ( Weld 1930).

Figures

FIGURES 328. Feron scutellum, comb. nov., asexual galls.

FIGURES 324–327. Feron scutellum, comb.nov., asexualfemale.324,head,frontalview;325,head andmesosoma,dorsal view; 326, antenna; 327, general habitus, lateral view (pictures taken from the holotype deposited at the USNM by M. Buffington).