Andricus megatruncicolus Melika, 2008

Shachar, Einat, Melika, George, Inbar, Moshe & Dorchin, Netta, 2018, The oak gall wasps of Israel (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae, Cynipini) - diversity, distribution and life history, Zootaxa 4521 (4), pp. 451-498 : 464-465

Andricus megatruncicolus Melika, 2008

Host plants. Israel: Q. boissieri . Iran and Turkey: Q. infectoria .

Life history. Known only from the bud galls of the asexual generation, which are pentagon-shaped, 5–15 mm in diameter and single-chambered ( Fig. 21 ). The galls are broadly attached to the branch and are composed of five flattened units that sheath a spherical mass. Old galls remain on the tree for several years.

Phenology. Galls develop over the summer and mature in September, adults emerge in the following spring ( Tavakoli et al. 2008).

Distribution. Israel: Very rare, found only twice in one location on Mt. Hermon at 1780 m.a.s.l. Elsewhere: Iran and Turkey.

Comments. The species epithet reflects the close similarity of the adults and galls of the asexual generation to those of Andricus truncicolus (Giraud) , and the larger size of the gall. The extreme rarity of purely asexual lifecycles in oak gallwasps ( Stone et al. 2002) suggests that A. megatruncicolus has a sexual generation which probably develops on oaks from section Cerris.

Figures

FIGURES 17–22. Galls on Quercus boissieri. 17. Andricus coriariformis, asexual generation; 18. Andricus moreae, asexual generation; 19. Andricus sp. 1, asexual generation; 20. Andricus sternlichti, asexual generation; 21. Andricus megatruncicolus, asexual generation; 22. Biorhiza pallida, sexual generation.