Feron discale ( 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 : 63-68

Feron discale ( Weld, 1926) , comb. nov.

Figs 162–183

Diplolepis discalis Weld, 1926: 24 , female, gall.

Andricus discalis (Weld) : Weld, 1951: 633.

Type examined. HOLOTYPE: Asexual female “Tijeras, N.M.”, “Cut out Nov. 1.21”, “ Quercus pungens ”, red label “Type No. 27190 USNM ”, “ Diplolepis discalis Weld ” deposited in USNM, examined by GM. Specimen data and images available at http://n 2t.net/ark:/65665/3629a7172-440c-48df-a198-8b1c39f1fa61.

Material examined. Two asexual females labelled as “ USA, Arizona, Chiricahua Mtns summit, AZ258 , spAZl2, galltype 60, Q. arizonica , leg. J.A. Nicholls, 2007.10.26.”

Diagnosis. The only asexual Feron species with yellowish to reddish brown body, the head with frons bulging in frontal view and inner margins of eyes converging strongly ventrally, the mesoscutum uniformly alutaceous-reticulate, glabrous and with the mesoscutellum smooth and glabrous centrally, while posteriorly and laterally rugose.

Re-description. Asexual female ( Figs 162–172 , 174–183 ). Head, mesosoma, mandibles, mouthparts, legs and metasoma uniformly yellowish to light brown; antenna, central propodeal area and posterior visible tergites slightly darker than rest of body. Two colour extremes (yellow and reddish-brown) are illustrated.

Head alutaceous, with a few sparse setae on lower face; rounded, 1.2× as broad as high and slightly narrower than mesosoma in frontal view; 1.6× as broad as long in dorsal view. Broadest part of head in frontal view at mid-height of lower face. Gena alutaceous-reticulate, not broadened behind eye in frontal view, narrower than transverse diameter of eye; gena in lateral view equally narrow along entire length of eye. Malar space alutaceous, with some striae radiating from clypeus and reaching to half-length of malar space; eye 4.5× as high as length of malar space; malar sulcus absent. Inner margins of eyes strongly converging ventrally. POL 1.9× as long as OOL, OOL 2.4× as long as the diameter of lateral ocellus and slightly longer than LOL, all ocelli ovate, of the same size. Antennal toruli located above mid-height of eyes. Transfacial distance 1.2× as long as height of eye; diameter of antennal torulus 2.0× as long as distance between them, distance between torulus and eye 1.4× as long as diameter of torulus; lower face smooth with a few white setae; slightly elevated median area and area between toruli smooth, glabrous, without setae. Clypeus impressed, rectangular, broader than high, alutaceous, 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 alutaceous, 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 carina black, clearly visible beside occipital foramen; occipital foramen slightly shorter than height of postgenal bridge; hypostomal carina emarginate, continuing into strong postgenal sulci which diverge until occipital foramen, ending in posterior tentorial pit.Antenna nearly as long as body, scape, pedicel, F1–F5 light brown, subsequent flagellomeres dark brown to black, with 12 flagellomeres (suture between F11 and F12 indistinct), pedicel longer than broad, F1 longer than length of scape+pedicel, 1.2× as long as F2, F2 slightly longer than F3, F3=F4, subsequent flagellomeres shorter, broader and nearly equal in length, F12 slightly longer than F11; placodeal sensilla on F5–F12.

Mesosoma longer than high, with rare setae on pronotum laterally, mesopleural triangle, mesoscutellum and lateral area of propodeum. Pronotum smooth, with setae laterally, delicate transverse parallel striae along posterior edge; anterolateral edge of propodeum 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 strongly converging and broader than anteriorly, with smooth, glabrous bottom; at posterior end the distance between notauli shorter than distance between notaulus and side of mesoscutum; anterior parallel line and parapsidal line indistinct, not traceable; median mesoscutal line in the form of a short broad smooth triangle; parascutal carina broad, reaching notaulus. Mesoscutellum trapezoid, longer than broad, broadest part in posterior 1/3; center part of mesoscutellum smooth, glabrous, rugose posteriorly and laterally, overhanging metanotum, with a few long setae. Mesoscutellar foveae in the form of a transverse, semilunar impression, broader than high, with smooth, glabrous bottom, circumscutellar carina present. Mesopleuron smooth, with setae along ventral edge, with very delicate indistinct parallel striae in anterior half; 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, as high as height of smooth, glabrous ventral impressed area; metanotal trough smooth, with 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 and piliferous points. Nucha with longitudinal sulci dorsally and laterally and a net of irregular rugae. Tarsal claws with basal lobe.

Fore wing longer than body, with light brown veins, margin with dense long cilia; radial cell open, 4.5× as long as broad, R1 and Rs nearly reaching wing margin; areolet triangular, delimited by indistinct light brown veins; Rs+M indistinct, not traceable. Tarsal claws with basal lobe.

Metasoma longer than head+mesosoma, longer than high in lateral view; all metasomal tergites 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 7.8× as long as broad in ventral view.

Body length 1.7–1.8 mm (n = 2).

Gall ( Fig. 173 ). A spangle gall, on the underside of leaf, 3.6–4.0 mm diameter, monolocular, yellow-green when young and growing, turn brown when mature, with raised rim and raised center, convex on upper surface, underside concave, the transversely placed larval chamber occupying the full height of the gall. A single or a few galls on one leaf ( Weld 1926).

Biology. The asexual generation is only known, which induces galls on Q. pungens (section Quercus , subsection Polymorphae), Q. arizonica and Q. turbinella (both section Quercus , subsection Leucomexicana). Galls mature in late autumn; adults were cut out from galls in November; probably overwintering in galls and emerging in spring.

Distribution. USA: Arizona, New Mexico ( Burks 1979).

Figures

FIGURES 162–167. Feron discale, comb. nov., asexual female (yellow colour variation). 162–165, head: 162, frontal view, 163, dorsal view, 164, lateral view, 165, posterior view. 166, antenna. 167, mesosoma and propleura, frontal view.

FIGURES 168–171. Feron discale, comb. nov., asexual female (yellow colour variation). 168, mesosoma, lateral view. 169, mesoscutum, dorsal view. 170, mesoscutellum, dorsal view. 171, metascutellum and propodeum, posterodorsal view.

FIGURES 172–173. Feron discale, comb. nov., asexual generation. 172, asexual female (yellow colour variation), metasoma, lateral view. 173, gall.

FIGURES 174–178. Feron discale, comb. nov., asexual female (reddish brown colour variation). 174–176, head: 174, frontal view, 175, dorsal view, 176, posterior view. 177, antenna. 178, fore wing.

FIGURES 179–183. Feron discale, comb. nov., asexual female (reddish brown colour variation).179, mesosoma and propleura, frontal view. 180–181, mesosoma: 180, lateral view, 181, dorsal view. 182, metascutellum and propodeum, posterodorsal view. 183, metasoma, lateral view.