Feron cylindratum ( Kinsey, 1937 ) 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 : 60-63

Feron cylindratum ( Kinsey, 1937) , comb. nov.

Figs 150–161

Xystoteras cylindratum Kinsey 1937 a: 77 , female, gall.

Liodora cylindratum (Kinsey) : Melika & Abrahamson 2002: 160 (synonymized Liodora with Andricus ); Pujade-Villar 2003: 234 (mentioned this combination).

Andricus cylindratum (Kinsey) : Pujade-Villar 2003: 234.

Types examined. HOLOTYPE: Asexual female “Mex (City) 25E D.F. 7000’, Mex. Gall 1-2-32, very many fms. 3-15-32”, “ Q. texocana, Kinsey coll.” red “ Xystoteras cylindratum , Holo- Paratype ”, deposited in AMNH, NYC, examined by GM . PARATYPES (around 600 asexual females) deposited in the general collection in AMNH, part of them also examined by GM .

Additional material. Four asexual females with the following label: “MEX-542, UNSIS, Mihauatlán de Porfirio Díaz, Oaxaca, México, ex Q. obtusata , (10.xi.2018) 05.ii.2019: 4 females, leg. R. Clark” .

Diagnosis. The only Feron species with the mesoscutum smooth, partially alutaceous anteriorly, glabrous and with the mesoscutellum uniformly reticulate.

Re-description. Asexual female ( Figs 150–160 ). Body dark brown; antenna and legs yellow to yellowish-brown.

Head alutaceous, with sparse white setae on lower face, 1.2× as broad as high and slightly broader than mesosoma in frontal view, 1.8× as broad as long in dorsal view. Gena alutaceous, slightly broadened behind eye in frontal view, narrower than transverse diameter of eye in lateral view. Malar space alutaceous, shining, with delicate striae radiating from clypeus, some of which reaching eye, malar sulcus absent; eye 3.2× as high as length of malar space. Eyes slightly converging ventrally. POL 2.1× as long as OOL, OOL 1.6× as long as diameter of lateral ocellus and slightly longer than LOL, all ocelli ovate, of same size. Transfacial distance slightly longer than height of eye; diameter of antennal torulus 1.8× as long as distance between them, distance between torulus and eye 1.2× as long as diameter of torulus; lower face alutaceous, glabrous, without setae, without striae; slightly elevated median area alutaceous, glabrous, without setae. Clypeus rectangular, nearly 2.0× as broad as high, smooth, glabrous, without setae; ventrally rounded, not emarginate and without median incision; anterior tentorial pit large, rounded, indistinct, epistomal sulcus distinct, broad, clypeo-pleurostomal line narrow, distinct. Frons, interocellar area uniformly alutaceous, without striae and setae. Vertex and occiput alutaceous, with a few white setae; postocciput smooth, glabrous; postgena in most part alutaceous, smooth glabrous along occipital foramen; 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 as broad as occipital foramen. Antenna longer than head+mesosoma, with 12 flagellomeres (suture between F12 and F11 indistinct), pedicel 2.0× as long as broad, flagellomeres not broadened towards apex; F1 1.5× as long as pedicel and 1.3× as long as F2; F2=F3=F4; F4 slightly longer than F5, all subsequent flagellomeres nearly equal in length; placodeal sensilla on F4–F12.

Mesosoma slightly higher than long, with a few setae, denser on lateral propodeal area. Pronotum laterally smooth, shining, with numerous delicate concentric striae; propleuron smooth, with few setae. Mesoscutum smooth shining, alutaceous only along anterior 1/5, with sparse white setae, slightly longer than broad (greatest width measured across mesoscutum level with base of tegulae). Notaulus complete, deep, broad along entire length, with smooth bottom, posteriorly broader and slightly converging; anterior parallel line indistinct, marked with smooth line, extending to 1/4 of mesoscutum length; parapsidal line indistinct or invisible; median mesoscutal line absent; parascutal carina broad, reaching notaulus. Mesoscutellum trapezoid, slightly longer than broad, uniformly reticulate, posteriorly rounded, overhanging metanotum. Mesoscutellar foveae in the form of a narrow semilunar anterior impression of mesoscutellum, with smooth, glabrous bottom, not divided by median carina. Mesopleuron smooth, shining, with delicate indistinct transverse subparallel striae, visible in central part at mid height; speculum smooth, shining; mesopleural triangle smooth, with sparse white setae; dorsal and lateral axillar areas smooth, shining, with a few white setae; subaxillular bar smooth, glabrous, triangular, at posterior end higher than height of metanotal trough; metapleural sulcus reaching mesopleuron at half of its height, delimiting smooth, shining area, upper part of sulcus strong, distinct. Metascutellum smooth, glabrous, shorter than height of smooth, glabrous ventral impressed area; metanotal trough smooth, glabrous, without setae; central propodeal area smooth, glabrous, with irregular rugae; lateral propodeal carinae bent slightly outwards at mid height; lateral propodeal area smooth, with white setae and piliferous points Nucha with longitudinal sulci laterally, smooth, glabrous dorsally. Tarsal claws toothed, with basal lobe.

Fore wing longer than body, hyaline, with cilia on margin, veins dark brown, distinct, radial cell open, 4.7× as long as broad; Rs not reaching wing margin, R1 very short; areolet present. Rs+M distinct, extending to 4/5 of distance between areolet and basalis, its projection reaching basalis at its mid height.

Metasoma as long as head+mesosoma, higher than long in lateral view; 2nd metasomal tergum extending to 1/3 length of metasoma in dorsal view, with setae anterolaterally; all terga smooth, glabrous, without micropunctures. Hypopygium without micropunctures, prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium 7.5× as long as broad in ventral view, with few short setae ventrally.

Body length 0.9–1.9 mm (n = 3).

Gall ( Fig. 161 ). Small, naked, hollow cylinders scattered on the underside of leaves. Each gall is regularly cylindrical, a bit swollen below the tip, a bit restricted basally, up to 5.0 mm in length and 2.5 mm in diameter. The exterior of the gall fairly smooth, entirely naked except for a blue or purplish scurf. The body of gall hollow, open at top, the open cavity penetrating to a third or a half of the gall, separated from the larval cell by a thin partition; larval cell floored with a thicker partition beneath which another cavity is to be found. Young galls straw and light rose pink, sometimes touched more purple red, the whole touched with an ashy-blue scurf; older galls becoming burnt red to purple brown or dark, dirty brown. Each gall separated, often occurring in great numbers and dense masses, usually on under surfaces, rarely on upper surfaces of leaves.

Biology. Only the asexual generation is known, inducing galls on Q. deserticola (= Q. texcocana ) (section Quercus , subsection Leucomexicana). Galls mature in autumn; adults emerge from February to mid-March.

Distribution. Mexico: Mexico City, Puebla ( Kinsey 1937).

Figures

FIGURES 150–154. Feron cylindratum, comb. nov., asexual female. 150–153, head: 150, frontal view, 151, dorsal view, 152, lateral view, 153, posterior view. 154, antenna.

FIGURES 155–158. Feron cylindratum, comb. nov., asexual female. 155, mesosoma, lateral view. 156, mesoscutum, dorsal view. 157, mesoscutellum, dorsal view. 158, metascutellum and propodeum, posterodorsal view.

FIGURES 159–161. Feron cylindratum, comb. nov., asexual generation. 159–160, asexual female: 159, fore wing, 160, metasoma, lateral view. 161, asexual gall.