Feron splendens ( Weld, 1919 ) 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 : 116-120

Feron splendens ( Weld, 1919) , comb. nov.

Figs 342–353

Andricus splendens Weld 1919: 254 , female, gall.

Types examined. HOLOTYPE: Asexual female “Prescott, Ariz”, “15627a Hopk. U.S. ”, red label “Type”, red label “Type No. 22328 USNM ”, handwriting Weld’s label “ Andricus splendens Weld ”. deposited at the USNM, examined by GM. Specimen data and images available at http://n 2t.net/ark:/65665/327ad3c5f-f34f-45a5-8c8c-e073f017201a. In the general collection in the AMNH a few dozen paratypes and thousands of non-type specimens of adults and galls are deposited . Paratypes and some non-paratype specimens were also examined by GM.

Additional material. Six asexual females and galls “Hillsboro, N.M., gall 12.26.19”, “ Q. grisea Kinsey coll.”; 4 females and galls “Canatlan, 7N, Dgo 7400’ Mex., galls 11.9.31., females 4.30.32.”, “ Q. undata Kinsey coll.” ; two females “Sta. Izabel 6E, Chi. 6000’, Mex., galls 10.24.31, 547 females 4.21.32., Q. undata Kinsey coll.” .

Diagnosis. Asexual females belong to the group of Feron species without a black body; the head is quadrangular or ovate in frontal view, with ocelli elevated above the frons; inner margins of eyes are parallel or very slightly converging ventrally, the transfacial distance is equal to or longer than the height of the eye; toruli are located above mid-height of eyes; the eye less than 3.0× as high as the length of malar space; lateral ocelli are large, OOL subequal or at most 1.7× as long as the diameter of ocellus; the pronotum laterally with longitudinal carinae; the mesoscutum alutaceous to coriaceous, rugose-reticulate, reticulate, without piliferous points; as in F. vitreum (asex) and F. verutum (asex). Differs from F. vitreum in having the F1 subequal to or slightly longer than scape+pedicel and the transfacial distance longer than the height of eye. Differs from F. verutum in having a mesoscutum with some delicate transverse striae on its anterior part between notauli, anterior parallel lines indistinct and the mesoscutellar foveae separated by a broad carina. See other characters at couplet 33 in the key.

Re-description. Asexual female ( Figs 342–352 ). Head, antenna, mesosoma, legs rusty brown; metasoma slightly darker.

Head transverse, 1.2× as broad as high in frontal view, with sparse setae, denser on lower face; 1.9× as broad as long in dorsal view; head as broad as mesosoma in frontal view. Gena reticulated, only very slightly broadened behind eye in frontal view, slightly narrower than transverse diameter of eye in lateral view. Malar space alutaceous, shining, with delicate striae radiating from clypeus and nearly reaching eye, malar sulcus absent; eye 2.1× as high as length of malar space. Inner margins of eyes parallel. POL 2.0× as long as OOL, OOL 1.5× as long as diameter of lateral ocellus and 1.2× as long as LOL, all ocelli ovate, central ocellus slightly bigger than lateral ocellus. Transfacial distance 1.2× as long as height of eye; torulus located slightly above mid height of eye, frons shorter than height of lower face, diameter of antennal torulus 1.6× as long as distance between them, distance between torulus and eye 1.1× as long as diameter of torulus; lower face delicately coriaceous, with sparse white setae; slightly elevated median area delicately coriaceous, with a few setae. Clypeus trapezoid, as broad as high, alutaceous, with a few long setae along ventral edge; ventrally rounded, emarginate and with delicate median incision; anterior tentorial pit rounded, large, distinct, epistomal sulcus distinct, clypeo-pleurostomal line well impressed. Frons delicately coriaceous to reticulate, without striae and with a few setae, small triangular area under central ocellus reticulated; areas between toruli and between torulus and eye reticulate; interocellar area delicately coriaceous to reticulate. Vertex, occiput, postgena delicately coriaceous to reticulate, with white long setae; postocciput smooth, glabrous; posterior tentorial pit large, elongate, area below impressed, glabrous; occipital foramen 2.0× as high as height of postgenal bridge; hypostomal carina emarginate, continuing into postgenal sulcus; postgenal sulcus indistinct, bent outwards reaching posterior tentorial pit, and postgenal bridge unusually broad. Head posteriorly with black narrow stripes. Antenna slightly longer than head+mesosoma, with 12 flagellomeres, distal half slightly darker; pedicel slightly longer than broad; F1 2.2× as long as pedicel and slightly longer than F2; F2 slightly longer than F3, F3=F4, F4 slightly longer than F5, F5=F6, F7 and subsequent flagellomeres until F10 nearly equal in length, F11 slightly shorter than F12; placodeal sensilla on F4–F12.

Mesosoma 1.2× as long as high, with sparse white setae. Pronotum smooth, with sparse setae, with delicate parallel concentric striae laterally; propleuron delicately coriaceous, without setae (propleuron absent in the figures). Mesoscutum alutaceous to reticulate alongside notauli, smooth, glabrous in posterior half between notauli and with some delicate transverse striae in anterior part between notauli; with sparse white setae; slightly longer than broad (greatest width measured across mesoscutum level with base of tegulae). Notaulus complete, distinctly impressed along entire length, with smooth bottom, slightly converging posteriorly; anterior parallel line indistinct, invisible; parapsidal line distinct, marked with narrow impressed smooth glabrous stripes; median mesoscutal line absent; parascutal carina narrow, extending to level of tegula. Mesoscutellum trapezoid, slightly longer than broad; disk of mesoscutellum uniformly dull rugose, slightly overhanging metanotum, with a few setae. Mesoscutellar foveae ovate, slightly broader than high, with smooth, glabrous bottom, divided by triangular coriaceous central elevated area. Mesopleuron and speculum entirely smooth, with setae in posteroventral quarter; mesopleural triangle smooth, with numerous short white setae; dorsal and lateral axillar areas smooth, with dense white setae; subaxillular bar smooth, glabrous, with parallel sides, slightly elevated, triangular in most posterior part and as high as height of metanotal trough; metapleural sulcus reaching mesopleuron at half of its height, upper part of sulcus distinct, lower part of sulcus separating smooth, glabrous area, with dense setae. Metascutellum smooth, glabrous, higher than height of smooth, glabrous ventral impressed area; metanotal trough smooth, with dense setae; central propodeal area lyre-shaped, smooth, glabrous, without rugae; lateral propodeal carinae distinct, bent outwards in posterior 1/3; lateral propodeal area smooth, with long dense white setae and piliferous points. Nucha with net of irregular rugae dorsally and laterally. Tarsal claws toothed, with basal lobe.

Fore wing longer than body, hyaline, with short dense cilia on margin, veins distinct, brown, radial cell open, 4.0× as long as broad; R1 and Rs not reaching wing margin; areolet and Rs+M indistinct, its projection reaching basalis at its half height.

Metasoma slightly longer than head+mesosoma,higher than long in lateral view; 2nd metasomal tergum extending to 2/3 of metasoma length in dorsal view, with dense short white setae anterolaterally, without micropunctures; subsequent terga and hypopygium smooth, shining, without micropunctures; prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium 5.8× as long as broad in ventral view, with a few short setae ventrally.

Body length 1.3–2.4 mm (n = 10).

Gall ( Fig. 353 ). Single or scattered on the underside of leaf. Cylindrical with ends and middle slightly swollen, 2.0 mm in diameter and 3–5 mm high, with a crystalline appearance, covered with short stout blunt spines from which run faint decurrent ridges. Sessile, often lop-sided, spines more numerous on basal third. The gall is rosy red with a straw yellow band around the middle and some yellow at either end. The basal third is solid, with a thin-walled larval cell in the middle of the gall while the distal third or more is tubular with a slightly flared open end. The exit hole is in the hollow portion ( Weld 1919).

Biology. Only the asexual generation is known, which induces leaf galls on Q. grisea , Q. turbinella , and Q. x undata (section Quercus , subsection Leucomexicana). Galls mature in late autumn; the larvae transform to adults in autumn but remain in the gall all winter and emerge the following spring in April–May.

Distribution. USA: AZ, NM ( Burks 1979); Mexico: Chihuahua, Durango.

Figures

FIGURES 342–347. Feron splendens, comb. nov., asexual female. 342–345, head: 342, frontal view, 343, posterior view, 344, dorsal view, 345, lateral view. 346, antenna. 347, mesosoma, frontal view.

FIGURES 348–351. Feron splendens, comb. nov., asexual female. 348, mesosoma, lateral view. 349, mesoscutum, dorsal view. 350, mesoscutellum, dorsal view. 351, metascutellum and propodeum, posterodorsal view.

FIGURES 352–353. Feron splendens, comb. nov., asexual generation. 352, asexual female, metasoma, lateral view. 353, galls (image courtesy of J. Gross).