Feron albicomus (Weld, 1952) 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 : 14-18

Feron albicomus (Weld, 1952) , comb. nov.

Figs 1–12

Andricus albicomus Weld, 1952b: 328 , female, gall.

Types examined. HOLOTYPE: Asexual female “Caves Jn, Ore, IV-1-50”, red label “ Holotype 60114 USNM ”, white label “ Q. garryana ” . PARATYPE (1 asexual female) “Caves Jn, Ore, IV-1-50”, red label “ Paratype 60114 USNM ”, white label “ Q. garryana ”. All types examinated by GM. Specimen data and images available at http://n 2t. net/ark:/65665/3e7f08a02-77fe-4b33-a2d9-6c7eff63e6af

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. izabellae (asex), F. pattersonae (asex), and F. sulfureum (asex). It differs from F. atrimentum (asex), F. crystallinum (asex), F. pattersonae (asex), and F. sulfureum (asex) 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. izabellae (asex) from which F. albicomus differs in having the head and mesosoma reddish brown, the median mesoscutal line in the form of a short smooth, shining triangle, mesoscutellar foveae divided by a carina, and ventral spine of hypopygium 11.0× as long as broad in ventral view.

Re-description. Asexual female ( Figs 1–11 ). Body, antenna, legs rusty brown.

Head alutaceous, with sparse setae on lower face, postgena, 1.2× as broad as high and slightly narrower than mesosoma in frontal view; 2.3× as broad as long in dorsal view. Gena alutaceous-reticulate, only slightly broadened behind eye in frontal view; gena in lateral view narrower than transverse diameter of eye in the dorsal part of eye and as broad as transverse diameter of eye in ventral part. Malar space alutaceous, with striae radiating from clypeus and reaching eye; eye 2.4× as high as length of malar space; malar sulcus absent. Inner margins of eyes very slightly converging ventrally. POL 1.5× as long as OOL, OOL 3.3× as long as diameter of lateral ocellus and 1.5× as long as LOL, all ocelli ovate, central ocellus slightly larger than lateral ocellus. Antennal toruli located above mid-height of eyes. Transfacial distance 1.4x as long as height of eye; diameter of antennal torulus 1.75× as long as distance between them, distance between torulus and eye 1.3× as long as diameter of torulus; lower face smooth, shining, with white setae, ventral area along malar space alutaceous; slightly elevated median area and area between toruli alutaceous, without setae. Clypeus impressed, rectangular, broader than high, delicately coriaceous, with a few setae scattered all over; ventrally rounded, emarginate, without median incision; anterior tentorial pit large, rounded, deep, epistomal sulcus broad and deep, clypeo-pleurostomal line well impressed. Frons, interocellar area, vertex uniformly reticulate, without striae and setae; area under central ocellus impressed, smooth, glabrous; occiput alutaceous, with dense setae; postocciput glabrous, with numerous delicate longitudinal interrupted parallel striae; postgena smooth, with few setae; posterior tentorial pit large, elongated, area below impressed; occipital foramen as high as height of postgenal bridge; hypostomal carina emarginate, continuing into strong postgenal sulci which diverge until half the height of postgenal bridge, further sulci parallel and running alongside foramen until 1/3 of its height. Antenna as long as body, with 12 flagellomeres (suture between F11 and F12 indistinct), pedicel longer than broad, F1 slightly shorter than length of scape+pedicel, 1.25× as long as F2, F2 slightly longer than F3, F3=F4, subsequent flagellomeres shorter and nearly equal in length, F12 shorter than F11; placodeal sensilla on F3–F12.

Mesosoma longer than high, with white setae, setae denser on pronotum laterally, mesopleural triangle, mesoscutellum and lateral area of propodeum. Pronotum smooth without striae, with setae only in dorsal and posterior edges, piliferous points along dorsal edge; anterolateral edge of pronotum smooth, glabrous, without foveae; propleuron smooth, with sparse white setae. Mesoscutum longer than broad (greatest width measured across mesoscutum level with base of tegulae), uniformly alutaceous-reticulate. Notaulus complete, deep, posteriorly converging and broader than anteriorly, with smooth, glabrous bottom; at most posterior end the distance between notauli shorter than distance between notaulus and side of mesoscutum; anterior parallel line indistinct, hardly traceable; parapsidal line marked with narrow, smooth elevated stripe; median mesoscutal line in the form of a short smooth, glabrous, impressed triangle; parascutal carina broad, reaching notaulus. Mesoscutellum trapezoid, longer than broad, broadest part in posterior 1/3; center part of mesoscutellum disc rugoso-coriaceous, with stronger rugae posteriorly and laterally, overhanging metanotum, with long setae. Mesoscutellar foveae rounded, as broad as high, with smooth, glabrous bottom, divided by a narrow, elevated carina. Mesopleuron entirely smooth, with setae only along ventral edge; mesopleural triangle smooth, with dense white setae and piliferous points; dorsal and lateral axillar areas smooth, with setae; axillula with delicate parallel longitudinal striae; subaxillular bar smooth, glabrous, triangular, posteriorly slightly higher than height of metanotal trough; metapleural sulcus reaching mesopleuron at half of its height, lower part delimiting smooth area with few setae, upper part of sulcus indistinct. Metascutellum coriaceous, top as high as height of smooth, glabrous ventral impressed area; metanotal trough smooth, with a few setae; central propodeal area lyre-shaped, smooth, glabrous; lateral propodeal carinae strong, broad and high, bent outwards in posterior 1/3; lateral propodeal area smooth, with long white setae. Nucha with longitudinal sulci dorsally and laterally. Tarsal claws with basal lobe.

Fore wing longer than body, hyaline, with short dense cilia on margin, veins light brown, radial cell open, 4.4× as long as broad; Rs and R1 nearly reaching wing margin; areolet small, triangular, closed, indistinct. Rs+M lightly pigmented, hardly traceable, visible on 1/3 of distance from areolet to basalis, its projection reaching basalis slightly below half of its height.

Metasoma longer than head+mesosoma, longer than high in lateral view; all metasomal terga smooth, glabrous, 2nd metasomal tergum extending to 2/3 length of metasoma in dorsal view, with white setae anterolaterally, without micropunctures; all subsequent terga with rare, weak, very delicate micropunctures. Hypopygium with micropunctures, prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium 6.3× as long as broad in ventral view.

Body length 2.0 mm (n = 53) ( Weld 1952b).

Gall ( Fig. 12 ). The asexual monolocular, round, bristly pubescent galls are mostly on the underside and, sometimes, the dorsal surface of leaves. Galls are covered with short, stellate white hairs. Galls occur singly or in scattered groups along the edges of the leaves or near the midrib. Galls are 4 mm high and wide ( Russo 2006, 2021; Weld 1952b, 1957).

Biology. The asexual generation is only known, which induces galls on Q. garryana (section Quercus , subsection Dumosae), the gall matures by October; adults emerge in April.

Distribution. USA: north California ( Russo 2006, 2021; authors), Oregon ( Burks 1979).

Figures

FIGURES 1–6. Feron albicomus, comb. nov., asexual female. 1–4, head: 1, frontal view, 2, dorsal view, 3, lateral view, 4, posterior view. 5, antenna. 6, mesosoma and propleura, frontal view.

FIGURES 7–10. Feron albicomus, comb. nov., asexual female. 7, mesosoma, lateral view. 8, mesoscutum, dorsal view. 9, mesoscutellum, dorsal view. 10, metascutellum and propodeum, posterodorsal view.

FIGURES 11–12. Feron albicomus, comb. nov., 11, asexual female, metasoma, lateral view. 12, galls.