Feron sulfureum ( Weld, 1926 ) 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 : 127-131

Feron sulfureum ( Weld, 1926) comb. nov.

Figs 372–383

Diplolepis sulfurea Weld, 1926: 33 , female, gall.

Andricus sulfureus (Weld) : Weld 1951: 636.

Type examined. HOLOTYPE: Asexual female “Huachuca Mnts. Ariz.”, “Bess. Canon”, “ Q. arizonica ”, “Cut out Dec. 3.19”, “910”, red label “Type No. 27193 USNM ”, “ Diplolepis sulfureus Weld ” deposited in USNM, examined by GM. Specimen data and images available at http://n 2t.net/ark:/65665/33b71e4e4-8126-45ce-885e-8416e8853fd6. According to Weld (1926) the paratype is deposited at the Leland Stanford Junior University , Stanford , California (not examined by the authors).

Additional material. 14 asexual females “ USA, AZ, Chiricahua Mtns nr Portal, galltype 35, ex Q. arizonica, AZ 51, coll. 2007.10.25, leg. J.A. Nicholls ”; 26 females “ USA, AZ, Chiricahua Mtns, western side, ex Q. arizonica, AZ 50, coll. 2007.10.25, leg. J.A. Nicholls ”; 14 females “ USA, AZ, Chiricahua Mtns summit, AZ49 , ex Q. arizonica , coll. 2007.10.25, leg. J.A. Nicholls ” .

Diagnosis. Asexual females together with F. pattersonae (asex) and F. crystallinum (asex), belong to a group of Feron species in which the pronotum has dense setae and piliferous points, without carinae laterally; the mesoscutum is dark brown between notauli in anterior 1/3 of the mesoscutum length. Differs from F. pattersonae in the trapezoid head in frontal view (ovate in F. pattersonae ) and mesoscutellar foveae are separated by a central carina (fused in F. pattersonae ). The morphologically most similar species is F. crystallinum but in F. sulfureum the pronotum is smooth, without piliferous points and all flagellomeres are uniformly broad; for other characters see couplet 26 in the key.

Re-description. Asexual female ( Figs 372–382 ). Head, antennae, mesosoma, metasoma dark brown; mouthparts light brown. Frons, interocellar area, central elevated area on lower face, gena behind eye, postgena, postocciput black; propleura, mesoscutum between notauli in anterior 2/3 of mesoscutum length and stripes along parapsidal lines black; metasoma dorsally always darker, dark brown to black. Legs brown, with black coxae.

Head trapezoid, broadest part above toruli, slightly higher than broad and slightly broader than mesosoma in frontal view, with sparse setae, denser on lower face; 2.2× as broad as long in dorsal view. Gena alutaceous, not broadened behind eye in frontal view, narrower than transverse diameter of eye in lateral view. Malar space with a few delicate striae radiating from clypeus and not reaching eye; eye 3.8× as high as length of malar space. Inner margins of eyes parallel. POL 1.5× as long as OOL, OOL slightly longer than diameter of lateral ocellus and shorter than LOL, all ocelli ovate, of same size. Transfacial distance nearly equal to height of eye; toruli located above mid height of head, frons shorter than height of lower face, diameter of antennal torulus 1.5× as long as distance between them, distance between torulus and eye 1.1× as long as diameter of torulus; lower face alutaceous, with dense white setae; slightly elevated median area alutaceous-reticulate, with a few setae. Clypeus quadrangular, only slightly broader than high, delicately coriaceous, with a few long setae along ventral edge; ventrally rounded, not emarginate and without median incision; anterior tentorial pit rounded, distinct, epistomal sulcus distinct, clypeo-pleurostomal line well impressed. Frons uniformly alutaceous-reticulate, without striae and setae, areas between toruli and between torulus and eye also alutaceous; interocellar area delicately coriaceous. Vertex and occiput reticulate, with white long setae; postocciput and postgena alutaceous-reticulate, with concentric lines around occipital foramen and postgenal bridge; posterior tentorial pit large, ovate, area below impressed; occipital foramen higher 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 11 flagellomeres (in some specimens, antenna with 12 flagellomeres, with a distinct suture between F12 and F11), pedicel longer than broad; F1 slightly longer than F2 and 2.0× as long as pedicel; F2=F3=F4, F5=F6, F7 to F10 equal in length; F11 longer than F10; placodeal sensilla on F4–F11.

Mesosoma longer than high, with few white setae, setae denser along propleuron and on lateral propodeal area. Pronotum smooth, without striae, with dense setae laterally, without piliferous points; propleuron smooth, with dense setae. Mesoscutum predominantly delicately coriaceous, smooth in between notauli in anterior 1/3 and along parapsidal lines; with white sparse setae and distinct piliferous points, slightly longer than broad (greatest width measured across mesoscutum level with base of tegulae). Notaulus complete, slightly converging posteriorly; at posterior end the distance between notauli shorter than distance between notaulus and side of mesoscutum; anterior parallel line in the form of short, delicately impressed smooth stripes; parapsidal line marked with broad smooth, impressed area; median mesoscutal line absent; parascutal carina broad, reaching notaulus. Mesoscutellum elongated, longer than broad, broadest part in posterior 1/4 of its length, circumscutellar carina present; disk of mesoscutellum reticulate, dull rugose laterally and posteriorly, overhanging metanotum, with sparse long setae. Mesoscutellar foveae transverse, broader than high, with smooth, glabrous bottom, with elevated coriaceous triangular central carina. Mesopleuron entirely smooth, glabrous, without striae, with a few long white setae along ventral edge; mesopleural triangle smooth, with dense, long white setae; dorsal and lateral axillar areas smooth, with dense white setae; axillula with delicate parallel longitudinal striae; subaxillular bar smooth, glabrous, with parallel sides, posteriorly as high as height of metanotal trough; metapleural sulcus reaching mesopleuron at half of its height; upper and lower parts of sulcus distinct, delimiting smooth areas with dense long white setae. Metascutellum smooth, glabrous, higher than height of smooth, glabrous ventral impressed area; metanotal trough smooth, with dense white setae; central propodeal area lyre-shaped, smooth, glabrous, with a few irregular short rugae; lateral propodeal carinae distinct, slightly bent outwards in posterior 1/3 of its height; lateral propodeal area smooth, with long dense white setae and few visible piliferous points. Nucha with numerous sulci dorsally and laterally. Tarsal claws with basal lobe.

Fore wing longer than body, hyaline, with short cilia on margin, veins dark brown, radial cell open, 4.2× as long as broad; R1 nearly reaching wing margin, Rs reach wing margin; areolet triangular, small, closed and distinct. Rs+M distinct, its projection reaching basalis in lower 1/3 of its height.

Metasoma as long as head+mesosoma, slightly longer than high in lateral view; 2nd metasomal tergum extending to 3/4 length of metasoma in dorsal view, with numerous white setae anterolaterally, without micropunctures; all subsequent terga and hypopygium without micropunctures. Prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium 5.5× as long as broad in ventral view, with few short white setae ventrally.

Body length 1.8–2.3 mm (n = 10).

Gall ( Fig. 383 ). A hollow cone, sessile at base and open at apex, densely covered with long sulphur-yellow spines, on under surface of leaf, single or scattered, sometimes as many as nine on a leaf but usually only one to three. The cone is up to 7 mm high by 4 mm in diameter at base, with a crystalline surface, white or rosy when growing, the spines up to 4 mm long and often rosy at the tip. The larval cell lies transversely just below the middle of gall and below it is a small obconical cavity reaching to point of attachment. The lower part of the large distal cavity above larval cell is constricted by a narrow circular shelf.

Biology. Only the asexual generation is known, which induces galls on multiple oaks fromsection Quercus , subsection Leucomexicana: Q. arizonica , Q. grisea and Q. oblongifolia . Galls mature in the autumn dropping only with the leaf; adults emerge in late March-April.

Distribution. USA, Arizona only.

Figures

FIGURES 372–376. Feron sulfureum, comb. nov., asexual female. 372–375, head: 372, frontal view, 373, posterior view, 374, dorsal view, 375, lateral view. 376, antenna.

FIGURES 377–380. Feron sulfureum, comb. nov., asexual female.377, mesosoma and propleura, frontal view. 378, mesosoma, lateral view. 379, mesoscutum and mesoscutellum, dorsal view. 380, metascutellum and propodeum, posterodorsal view.

FIGURES 381–383. Feron sulfureum, comb. nov., asexual generation. 381–382, asexual female: 381, fore wing, part, 382, metasoma, lateral view. 383, galls.