Feron serranoae Pujade-Villar & Cuesta-Porta, 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 : 113-116

Feron serranoae Pujade-Villar & Cuesta-Porta , sp. nov.

Figs 329–341

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:ED36C50E-D377-4148-B4A8-87497FB7C48C

Type material. HOLOTYPE: Asexual female “ Mexico (Code 171), Sierra de Guadalupe (MEX), ex Quercus sp. , (10.i.2013) 15.i–15.ii.2013, leg. M. Serrano & A. Villegas (Miriam-323)” ( UB) . PARATYPES (9 asexual females): labelled as the holotype (3 females at PHDNRL, 6 females at UB) .

Etymology. Species dedicated to Miriam Serrano Muñoz, the student who collected the galls.

Diagnosis. Asexual females are part of the Feron group characterised by never having a black body; head transversely ovate in frontal view; the gena at least slightly broadened behind the eye; antennae with 12 flagellomeres; lateral sides of pronotum longitudinally striated at least on posterior half, rest of pronotum alutaceous, matte; mesoscutum coarsely reticulated; mesopleuron finely striated to alutaceous on anterior margin; as in F. tecturnarum (asex), F. tetyanae (asex) and part of F. tibiale (asex). Feron serranoae differs from these asexual forms in its long mesoscutellum, 1.3× as long as broad and margined by a strong circumscutellar carina, while in the other species the mesoscutellum is only slightly longer than broad and the circumscutellar carina is absent.

Description. Asexual female ( Figs 329–340 ). Head, and mesosoma reddish brown; metasoma reddish brown to dark brown, antennae slightly darker distally.

Head trapezoid in frontal view, broadest part level with halfway up eye, with sparse setae, denser on lower face; 2.1× as broad as long in dorsal view. Gena alutaceous, not or only very slightly broadened behind eye in frontal view in small specimens, narrower than transverse diameter of eye in lateral view. Malar space with a few delicate striae radiating from clypeus and reaching eye; eye 2.3× as high as length of malar space. Inner margins of eyes parallel. POL 1.3× as long as OOL, OOL 2.5× as long as diameter of lateral ocellus and 1.6× as long as LOL, all ocelli ovate, of same size. Transfacial distance 1.2× as long as height of eye; toruli located slightly 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 1.3× as long as diameter of torulus; lower face smooth, with dense white setae; slightly elevated median area alutaceous, with few setae. Clypeus trapezoid, broader than high, alutaceous, 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 reticulate, without striae and with few setae, areas between toruli and between torulus and eye also alutaceous; interocellar area reticulate. Vertex, occiput, postgena alutaceous, with white long setae; postocciput alutaceous-reticulate, with concentric lines around occipital foramen and postgenal bridge; posterior tentorial pit large, elongated, area below impressed; occipital foramen as high as 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 (some specimens with 12 flagellomeres with a distinct suture between F12 and F11), F6 until F11–F12 gradually broadening towards apical end, pedicel slightly longer than broad; F1 1.5× as long as pedicel and 1.2× as long as F2; F2=F3=F4, F5 to F10 nearly equal in length, F11 longer than F10; placodeal sensilla on F5–F11.

Mesosoma slightly longer than high, with sparse white setae, except for dense setae on lateral propodeal area. Pronotum striate, propleuron alutaceous, glabrous. Mesoscutum reticulate, smooth along parapsidal lines with sparse white setae, slightly broader than long (greatest width measured across mesoscutum level with base of tegulae). Notaulus complete, deep, bottom smooth, posteriorly broader and slightly converging; at posterior end the distance between notauli shorter than distance between notaulus and side of mesoscutum; anterior parallel line distinct, in the form of a bare, smooth stripe, extending to half-length of mesoscutum; parapsidal line distinct, marked with broad impressed smooth glabrous stripes; median mesoscutal line absent; parascutal carina broad, reaching notaulus. Mesoscutellum ovate, slightly longer than broad, circumscutellar carina present; disk of mesoscutellum alutaceous with fine rugae, overhanging metanotum, with sparse setae. Mesoscutellar foveae shallow, fused, with smooth, glabrous bottom, occupying at least 1/3 of mesoscutellum length. Mesopleuron smooth, with setae in antero- and posteroventral part, and fine striae along anterior margin; mesopleural triangle smooth, with numerous short white setae; dorsal and lateral axillar areas smooth, with dense white setae; subaxillular bar smooth, glabrous, triangular, 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 alutaceous to smooth, glabrous, 3.0x as high as height of smooth, glabrous ventral impressed area; metanotal trough smooth, with some setae; central propodeal area lyre-shaped, smooth, glabrous, with irregular interrupted rugae at the base in large specimens; lateral propodeal carinae strong, bent outwards in posterior 1/3; lateral propodeal area smooth, with long dense white setae. Nucha with numerous sulci dorsally and laterally. Tarsal claws with basal lobe.

Fore wing longer than body, hyaline, with distinct dense cilia on margin, veins dark brown, radial cell open, 4.2× as long as broad; R1 and Rs not reaching wing margin; areolet small, triangular, closed and distinct. Rs+M distinct, its projection reaching basalis slightly above mid height.

Metasoma as long as head+mesosoma, higher than long than in lateral view; 2nd metasomal tergum extending to 2/3 of metasoma length in dorsal view, with short white setae anterolaterally, without micropunctures; subsequent terga and hypopygium smooth, glabrous, without micropunctures. Prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium 6.5× as long as broad in ventral view, with some short setae ventrally which do not extend beyond apex of spine.

Body length 1.7–2.2 mm (n = 5).

Gall ( Fig. 341 ). Brownish rounded unilocular galls on the underside of leaves, with an apical hole. Up to 6-8 mm in diameter.

Biology. Only the asexual generation is known, which induces galls on an unidentified white oak Quercus sp. (section Quercus , subsection Leucomexicana). The gall was found mature in January and the adults emerged soon after.

Distribution. Only known from Sierra de Guadalupe, Mexico State ( Mexico).

Figures

FIGURES 329–334. Feron serranoae, sp. nov., asexual female. 329–332, head: 329, frontal view, 330, posterior view, 331, dorsal view, 332, lateral view; 333, antenna. 334, mesosoma and propleura, frontal view.

FIGURES 335–338. Feron serranoae, sp. nov., asexual female. 335, mesosoma, lateral view. 336, mesoscutum, dorsal view. 337, mesoscutellum, dorsal view. 338, metascutellum and propodeum, posterodorsal view.

FIGURES 339–341. Feron serranoae, sp. nov., asexual generation. 339–340, asexual female: 339, fore wing, 340, metasoma, lateral view. 341, galls.