Amphibolips nebris Kinsey, 1937

Cuesta-Porta, Victor, Melika, George, Nicholls, James A., Stone, Graham N., Equihua-Martinez, Armando, Estrada-Venegas, Edith & Pujade-Villar, Juli, 2023, Revision of the Amphibolips ‘ niger’ group with the description of a new species (Hymenoptera: Cynipini), Zootaxa 5360 (4), pp. 451-486 : 468-471

Amphibolips nebris Kinsey, 1937

Figs 35–43 , 73

Amphibolips (niger) nebris Kinsey, 1937: 442 .

Type material examined. HOLOTYPE. Asexual female “Parral, 21W, Chi., 8600’, Mex Ɵ, 10.20.31, 1♀, 4.22.32” (white label), “ Q. eduardi, Kinsey coll.” (white label). “ Amphibolips nebris ParaHolotype ” (red label), “ CYNIPIDAE Amphibolips nebris Kinsey, 1937 , Nieves-Aldrey, 2012 ” (white label), “ Amphibolips nebris ( Kinsey, 1937) ♀, det. JP-V, 2014” (white label), “ AMNH _IZC 00322791” deposited in the AMNH. PARATYPES: 133 females deposited in the AMNH with the same labels as the holotype; three paratype females deposited in the JP-V col ( UB): one female “Parral, 12W, Chi., 8600’, Mex Ɵ, 10.28.31, 11♀, 3.20.32”, one female “Parral, 12W, Chi., 8600’, Mex Ɵ, 10.28.31, 96♀, 4.15.32”, one female “Parral, 12W, Chi., 8600’, Mex Ɵ, 10.28.31, 1♀, 4.22.32”. All paratypes were collected from Q. eduardi .

Diagnosis. Amphibolips nebris belongs to the group of species characterized by the antenna with 14-15 flagellomeres, the lower face carinate-rugose; the mesoscutum uniformly carinate; the median mesoscutal line absent or inconspicuous; as in A. elatus , A. gumia and A. jubatus . It differs from the mentioned species by the lower face, mesopleura, propodeum and legs rufous, antenna completely rufous-brown; lower face finely coriaceous without carinae, while in A. elatus , A. gumia , and A. jubatus the mesosoma is completely black, at least the first half of the antenna is black and sometimes the terminal flagellomeres are lighter, and the lower face is carinate-rugose.

Re-description.

Asexual female ( Figs 35–43 ). Head, mesosoma black; antenna of the same color than head; metasoma chestnut brown to black; mouthparts, legs dark brown to black, with coxae always darker; fore wings smoked with an infuscate band on anterior margin.

Head coarsely rugose, with sparse setae, denser on lower face and genae, rounded, transverse, 1.3× as broad as high and narrower than mesosoma in frontal view; 2.5× as broad as long in dorsal view. Gena rugose, broadened behind eye in frontal view, slightly shorter than transverse diameter of eye in lateral view. Malar space with striae radiating from clypeus, malar sulcus absent; eye 2.3× as high as length of malar space. Internal margin of eyes parallel. POL 2.8× as long as OOL, OOL 0.5× as long as diameter of lateral ocellus and 0.8× as long as LOL, LOL 0.6× diameter of lateral ocelli, all ocelli ovate, of same size. Transfacial distance slightly shorter to height of eye; toruli located at mid-height eye; diameter of antennal torulus 5.0× as long as distance between them, distance between torulus and compound eye 1.7× as long as diameter of torulus; lower face rugose, with dense white setae. Clypeus rounded, nearly as broad as high, rugose, with few setae; ventrally rounded, not emarginate and without median incision; anterior tentorial pit large, rounded, distinct, epistomal sulcus distinct, clypeo-pleurostomal line well impressed. Frons faintly rugose with shiny smooth areas, less pubescent than lower face, interocellar area rugose. Vertex rugose, occiput and postocciput alutaceous; occipital carina present, postgena smooth or alutaceous, with or without setae; posterior tentorial pit large, elongated, area below impressed; occipital foramen slightly shorter or as high as height of postgenal bridge; hypostomal carina emarginate, continuing into postgenal sulci which strongly diverge toward occipital foramen, postgenal bridge anteriorly slightly broader than occipital foramen. Antenna shorter than head+mesosoma, with 14 flagellomeres, F14 partially divided, pedicel as long as broad; flagellomeres subsequently broadening towards apical end; F1 slightly shorter than scapus+pedicel and 1.2× as long as F2; F2 1.2× as long as F3; subsequent flagellomeres progressively shorter; F14 1.7× as long as F13; placodeal sensilla on F4–F13.

Mesosoma slightly longer than high, uniformly pubescent. Pronotum with faint irregular longitudinal striae from central to lateral part; propleuron sparsely pubescent and longitudinally carinated. Mesoscutum with strong irregular carinae radiating from the anterior parallel lines, slightly broader than long (greatest width measured across mesoscutum level with base of tegulae). Notaulus incomplete, distinct on posterior 1/3; anterior parallel line distinct, elevated into a strong carina, and extending to 1/2 of mesoscutum length; parapsidal line impressed; median mesoscutal line impressed on posterior margin; parascutal carina broad, reaching pronotum. Mesoscutellum ovate, slightly longer than broad; disk of mesoscutellum, coarsely rugose, barely overhanging metanotum, with sparse long setae; circumscutellar carina inconspicuous. Mesoscutellar foveae big, about as broad as high, with shiny delicately rugose bottom, divided by a strong elevated carina. Mesopleuron sparsely pubescent, punctured and smooth; speculum densely punctured; mesopleural triangle, with a few strong irregular striae and long white setae; dorsal and lateral axillar areas rugose, sparsely pubescent; axillula faintly rugose; subaxillular bar smooth, glabrous, triangular, narrowing posteriorly; metapleural sulcus reaching mesopleuron at 1/2, upper part of sulcus indistinct, sulcus separating a rugulose area, with sparse setae. Metascutellum glabrous, rugose, 2.0x as high as height of smooth, glabrous ventral impressed area; metanotal trough smooth, glabrous. Central propodeal area rugose, pubescent anteriorly, with delicate rugae in posterolateral part; propodeal carinae divergent and slightly bent on posterior margin; lateral propodeal area finely punctured and smooth, and densely pubescent. Nucha with strong longitudinal sulci dorsally and laterally. Tarsal claws with basal lobe.

Fore wing longer than body, smoked, with distinct dense cilia on margin, veins dark brown, radial cell open, 3.9× as long as broad; Rs not reaching wing margin, R1 distinct, not reaching wing margin, 2r angulated and shortly projected into radial cell; areolet big, triangular, closed and distinct. Rs+M visible, reaching basalis slightly below its mid-height or lower.

Metasoma shorter than head+mesosoma, slightly longer than high in lateral view; second metasomal tergum extending to 3/4 of metasoma in dorsal view, completely covered in setae laterally, glabrous and smooth dorsally, sparsely micropunctured in lateral view on anterior 2/3 and with a dense band of micropunctures on posterior 1/3; subsequent terga, densely pubescent and micropunctured. Hypopygium with or without micropunctures, prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium 5.0× longer than broad in ventral view, with a few white setae ventrally. Body length 5.7 mm (n=1).

Gall. ( Fig. 73 ) Subspherical unilocular woolly twig gall (30–70 mm in diameter). The dense pubescence is rusty brown to pale brown, and it is attached to the body of the gall, which is a strongly lignified barrel-shaped parenchyma. The larval chamber is oval, central to the gall and within the lignified parenchyma.

Host. Q. eduardi Trel. , section Lobatae .

Biology. Only the females are known. The mature gall was collected in October; adults emerged by MarchApril ( Kinsey, 1937).

Distribution. Mexico: Chihuahua State.

Figures

FIGURES 35–40. Amphibolips nebris, asexual female. 35–36, head: 35, frontal view; 36, dorsal view. 37, head and mesosoma in lateral view. 38, mesosoma in dorsal view. 39, mesoscutellum in dorsal view. 40, antenna.

FIGURES 41–43. Amphibolips nebris, asexual female. 41, mesosoma in posterior view, propodeum. 42, metasoma in lateral view. 43, fore wing.

FIGURES 69–74. Galls: 69, A. elatus; 70, A. gumia; 71, A. jubatus; 72, A. maturus; 73, A. nebris; 74, A. pistrix.