Cycloneuroterus lohsei Melika & Tang

Tang, Chang-Ti, Sinclair, Frazer, Hearn, Jack, Yang, Man-Miao, Stone, Graham N., Nicholls, James A., Schwéger, Szabina & Melika, George, 2016, Eight new species of Cycloneuroterus Melika & Tang gallwasps from Taiwan and mainland China (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini), Zootaxa 4088 (4), pp. 451-488 : 476-479

Cycloneuroterus lohsei Melika & Tang , new species

Figs 10–11 , 99–115

Type material. HOLOTYPE female: TAIWAN: New Taipei City, Mt. Erge, Shihding District, ex Quercus sessilifolia , 25.III.2011 ( TAI 115), 24.967203ºN, 121.619744ºE, 678m, ex furry multilocular young leaf swellings (AGWP-Morpho43), adult em. 31.III.2011, leg. C. T. Tang, F. Sinclair, J. Hearn, K. Lohse. Twenty six female and 18 male PARATYPES: 8 males and 23 females with the same labels as the holotype; 3 females: TAIWAN: New Taipei City, Mt. Erge, Shihding District, ex Quercus sessilifolia , 25.III.2011 ( TAI 115), 24.967203ºN, 121.619744ºE, 678m, ex furry multilocular young leaf swellings (AGWP-Morpho43), adult em. 30.III.2011, leg. C. T. Tang, F. Sinclair, J. Hearn, K. Lohse; 10 males: TAIWAN: New Taipei City, Mt. Erge, Shihding District, ex Quercus sessilifolia , 10.IV.2011, 24.967203ºN, 121.619744ºE, 678m, ex furry multilocular young leaf swellings (AGWP-Morpho43), adult em. 13.IV.2011, leg. Yi-Chuan Lee.

The female holotype, 8 female and 5 male paratypes are deposited in NMNS, 8 female and 5 male paratypes in PHMB, 3 female and 2 male paratypes in USNM, and 7 female and 6 male paratypes in NCHU.

Etymology. Named in honour of Dr. Konrad Lohse (Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Scotland), who collected the galls from which the new species was reared.

Diagnosis. See the diagnosis to C. jianwui .

Description. SEXUAL FEMALE. Head light brown to dark brown, with darker stripes along inner margin of eye and darker frons, interocellar area, vertex area between torulus and eye; lower face light brown, mandibles, maxillary and labial palps much lighter; scape and pedicel light brown, flagellomeres progressively darker till last one; mesoscutum and mesoscutellum dark brown to black, other parts of mesosoma with various intensity of brown; legs yellow, metasoma dark brown.

Head 2.05× as broad as long in dorsal view, 1.2× as broad as high in frontal view. Gena delicately alutaceous, not broadened behind eye, 0.56× as broad as cross diameter of eye; malar space alutaceous, without striae, 0.35× as high as height of eye. Eyes slightly converging ventrally. POL nearly as long as OOL; OOL 2.6× as long as diameter of lateral ocellus and LOL; all ocelli ovate, elongated, same size and shape. Transfacial distance 1.2× as long as height of eye; diameter of torulus 1.5× as long as distance between toruli and equal to distance between torulus and eye; lower face alutaceous, with sparse white setae and piliferous points; median elevated area narrow, delicately coriaceous. Clypeus elevated above lower face, hexagonal, flat, emarginate, with straight margin ventrally, alutaceous; anterior tentorial pit small but distinct, epistomal sulcus and clypeo-pleurostomal line distinct, deep. Frons and interocellar area delicately uniformly alutaceous, glabrous, frons microreticulate, interocellar area with few white setae. Vertex and occiput delicately alutaceous. Postocciput and postgena smooth, glabrous, with few white setae; posterior tentorial pit large, ovate, deep, area below not impressed; height of postgenal bridge shorter than occipital and oral foramen. Antenna with 12 flagellomeres, longer than head+mesosoma; pedicel subglobose, 1.2× as long as broad. F 1 1.3 × as long as F2, 2.2× as long as pedicel; F2–F4 equal in length; F5–F8 equal in length and slightly shorter than F2–F4; F8–F11 progressively shorter; F 12 1.27 × as long as F11; placoid sensillae on F2–F12, absent on F1.

Mesosoma 1.2× as long as high in lateral view. Pronotum smooth, glabrous, short dorsally, with parallel striae laterally; strongly impressed along anterior rim; propleuron alutaceous, glabrous, with sparse white setae and piliferous point. Mesoscutum smooth, without setae; 1.2× as broad as long (largest width measured across mesoscutum on the level of the base of tegulae). Notaulus, anterior parallel and parapsidal lines absent, even rows of setae do not indicate them; median mesoscutal line absent; parascutal carina broad, extending to the point where notaulus usually reaches pronotum. Mesoscutellum hexagonal, shorter than broad, broadest at middle part, smooth, glabrous, with few setae, foveolate along lateral and posterior margins, slightly overhanging metanotum. Scutellar foveae absent, semilunar transverse depression present anteriorly, with smooth glabrous bottom. Mesopleuron and speculum smooth, glabrous, without setae, with numerous parallel striae anterolaterally, impressed along acetabular carina; mesopleural triangle smooth, glabrous, without setae. Dorsoaxillar area reticulate, with few white setae; lateroaxillar area smooth, without setae. Subaxillular bar smooth, glabrous, at posterior end slightly higher than height of metanotal trough; metapleural sulcus reaches posterior margin of mesopectus in upper 3/4 of its height. Metascutellum alutaceous, metanotal trough smooth, glabrous, without setae; ventral impressed area 2.0× as high as height of metascutellum, smooth, without striae; central propodeal area broad, glabrous, without rugae, lateral propodeal carinae strong, high, strongly curved outwards in middle part; lateral propodeal area smooth, glabrous, with few setae and piliferous points. Nucha without irregular rugae.

Radial cell of fore wing 4.6× as long as broad; Rs+M distinct on 1/2 of distance to basalis, its projection reaches basalis in lower half of its height. Areolet large, triangular, distinct; wing margin with long cilia; Rs and R1 reach wing margin.

Metasoma shorter than length of head+mesosoma; longer than high in lateral view; second metasomal tergite occupying 1/3 of metasoma length in dorsal view, with few white setae laterally, all subsequent tergites without setae, smooth, glabrous. Ventral spine of hypopygium short, prominent part 2.25× as long as broad in ventral view, with sparse, white subapical setae, not extending beyond apex of spine. Body length 1.8–2.0 mm (n=5).

MALE. Similar to female but eye and ocelli slightly larger. Mesosoma yellow, mesoscutum and mesoscutellum slightly darker. Antenna with 13 flagellomeres, slightly longer than body, F1 curved and swollen apically, 1.25× as long as F2; F2=F3; F4–F6 equal in length but slightly shorter than F3; F7 slightly shorter than F6; F8–F11 equal in length but slightly shorter than F7; F 12 0.77 × as long as F11; F 13 1.14 × as long as F12; placoid sensillae on all flagellomeres. Body length 1.73–1.86 mm (n=5).

Gall ( Figs 112–115 ). Galls of the sexual generation are multilocular, fully covered with pink or white hairs, and on young leaves ( Figs 112–114 ). The gall growth sometimes causes the deformation of the whole leaf ( Fig. 114 ). The swollen parts on leaves are 10.0–20.0 mm long and 4.0–6.0 mm broad (n = 10). Asexual generation galls are multilocular, rounded clusters on the midrib on the lower surface of mature leaves, and densely covered in brown hairs 4-5 mm long ( Fig. 115 ).

Biology. Only the sexual generation is described herein. Sexual generation galls appear on the host-plant in March, and adults emerged from galls from late-March to mid-April, soon after the field collection. Sexual generation galls have been found on Q. sessilifolia . Asexual generation galls have not been reared successfully, so asexual adults are unknown. However, DNA sequences obtained from larvae dissected from asexual galls match those from sexual generation adults. Asexual generation galls have been collected from Q. gilva in August.

Distribution. Currently known only from Taiwan: Shihding District, New Taipei City; Jianshih Township, Hsinchu County.

Figures

FIGURES 9 – 13. Colour patterns in Cycloneuroterus species. 9, C. lirongchiuea Melika & Tang, female, 10 – 11, C. lohsei new species: 10, female, 11, male. 12 – 13, C. longinuxus Tang & Melika: 12, female, 13, male.

FIGURES 99 – 106. Cycloneuroterus lohsei, new species. 99 – 101, head, female: 99, frontal view, 100, dorsal view, 101, posterior view. 102 – 103, head, male: 102, frontal view, 103, dorsal view. 104 – 105, antenna: 104, female, 105, male. 106, mesosoma, dorsal view, female.

FIGURES 107 – 110. Cycloneuroterus lohsei, new species, female. 107, mesosoma, lateral view, 108, pronotum and propleura, frontal view, 109, metascutellum and propodeum, posterodorsal view, 110, metasoma, lateral view.

FIGURES 111 – 115. Cycloneuroterus lohsei, new species. 111, fore wing, part, female. 112 – 115, galls (photos by C. - T. Tang).