Amphibolips nassa Kinsey

Cuesta-Porta, Víctor, Equihua-Martínez, Armando, Estrada-Venegas, Edith G., Cibrián-Tovar, David, Barrera-Ruíz, Uriel M., Silva, Salvador Ordaz, Sánchez, Imelda Virginia López, Melika, George & Pujade-Villar, Juli, 2020, Revision of the Amphibolips species of the ‘ nassa’ complex from Mexico and central America (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae), Zootaxa 4877 (1), pp. 1-50 : 22

Amphibolips nassa Kinsey

Amphibolips nassa Kinsey 1937: 432 .

Type material examined: HOLOTYPE. ♀ (deposited in AMNH) with the following labels: “Purépero, 5W, Mich. 8500, Mex., ⊕ 12.25.31” (handwritten, white label); “ Q. serrulata Kinsey coll.” (handwritten, white label); “ Amphibolips nassa ParaHolotype ” (handwritten, red label).

Diagnosis. This species is characterized with a deep and almost smooth scutellar foveae, indistinctly separated medially by indistinct, incomplete carina; longitudinal depression shallow anteriorly, almost reaches foveae, deep on posterior end of mesoscutellum; posterolateral margins forming small obtuse tips ( Fig. 11G ); forewing completely infuscate with a strongly infuscate band on anterior margin; veins Rs and 2r inconspicuous through infuscate band or hardly traceable ( Fig. 13G ). Amphibolips nassa closely resembles A. zacatecaensis but differs in scutellar foveae almost smooth and undivided, without transversal carinae in A. nassa (with strong median carina and transversal carinae in A. zacatecaensis ); posteromedian depression projected anteriorly, reaching posterior margin of foveae, deep on posterior edge (depression shallow not projected to anterior margin in A. zacatecaensis ); posterolateral margins ended in small tips (completely rounded in A. zacatecaensis ); metasomal tergum II with posterior coriaceous sculpture before band of micropunctures (completely smooth in A. zacatecaensis ); and galls ( A. nassa are subglobose, but a bit fusiform with a tip and a base, with lignified spongious parenchyma while in A. zacatecaensis galls are fragile, globose with a tiny tip at apex, with soft spongious parenchyma. The galls are very similar to A. nevadensis and A. rulli n. sp.; galls of these species cannot be differentiated, only by the uniformly brown surface of the galls of A. nassa (mottled in A. nevadensis and A. rulli n. sp.), and the host plants are different; Amphibolips nassa in buds of Q. castanea , A. nevadensis galls on Q. calophylla and A. rulli n. sp. on Q. eduardi and Q. viminea . All these galls are subglobose, hard and with an apical tip, resulting from the longitudinal elongation of the gall.

Gall ( Figs 15 F–G). A rather large, subglobose, slightly fusiform, elongated bud oak apple, up to 48 mm in diameter, detachable, with a fine tip and base; with hard, lignified parenchyma. Larval chamber central or near the base of the gall, on buds.

Host. According to the original description, Q. castanea .

Biology. Galls were collected in December; the only known adult was dissected out of the gall.

Distribution. Mexico: Michoacán state.

Remarks. Kinsey (1937) mentioned that similar galls were collected in the same place on Q. mexicana by Morelia from the same host plant as the holotype, but after knowing that different species are found in similar galls, we cannot assure this citation was correct.

Figures

FIGURE 11. Female dorsal meosoma: (A) A. cibriani (Type); (B) A. durangensis (Type); (C) A. fusus, scutellar postermedian depression signaled (white arrow); (D) A. hidalgoensis (Type); (E) A. jalisciensis (Type); (F) A. michoacaensis (Type), posterior carina of scutellum signaled (white bracket); (G) A. nassa (Type); (H) A. nevadensis (Type); (I) A. oaxacae (Type); (J) A. tarasco (Type), less dense sculpture signaled (white arrow); (K) A. zacatecaensis (Type); (L) A. fusus, mesoscutellum.

FIGURE 13. Forewings: (A) A. aliciae male; (B) A. bassae n. sp. female; (C) A. dampfi male; (D) A.turulli n. sp. female; (E) A. michoacaensis female; (F) A. oaxacae female; (G) A. nassa; (H) A. nevadensis male.

FIGURE 15. Galls: (A–B) A. hidalgoensis; (C–D) A. zacatecaensis; (E) A. dampfi dry gall, apical tip signaled (white arrow), detail of the spongious internal tissue (top right) and the larval cell (bottom right); (F–G) A. nassa dry galls; (H–I) A. rulli n. sp. dry gall.