Synophrus politus Hartig, 1843

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 : 480

Synophrus politus Hartig, 1843

Host plants. Israel: Q. ithaburensis . Elsewhere: several species from section Cerris.

Host gall-wasp. The sexual generation invades galls of species in the Andricus burgundus complex ( Pénzes et al. 2009).

Life history. Known only from the sexual generation, which develops in galls induced by the Andricus burgundus complex (e.g., A. caputmedusae , A. coriarius , A. curtisii ) ( Pujade-Villar et al. 2003a; Pénzes et al. 2009). In Israel, this species has been reared from the clustered, conical bud galls of A. coriarius ( Fig. 52 ), causing them to develop into a single spherical unilocular gall, up to 15 mm in diameter, of the same color of the branch, with very hard walls encircling a single larval chamber ( Fig. 41 ; Sternlicht 1968b, Figs 13, 15–17 ). Invaded galls were found in February and adult inquilines emerged in December-January.

Distribution. Israel: Mezar, Hosha’aya, Alonim, Tiv’on, Hasharon Forest. Elsewhere: Northwest Africa to Iran.

Comments. The galls of this species resemble somewhat those of Aphelonys persica but A. persica galls are light brown, with more delicate and sometimes wrinkled surface ( Fig. 37 ), whereas S. politus galls are of the same color of the branches, rougher and more rigid. Moreover, A. persica galls are hollow and thin-walled ( Fig. 38 ) relative to the very thick-walled galls of S. politus .

Figures

FIGURES 47–52. Sexual generation galls on Quercus ithaburensis. 47. Andricus cecconii; 48. Same, old gall; 49. Andricus grossulariae, young galls; 50. Andricus grossulariae, old galls (arrow); 51. Andricus vindobonensis; 52. Andricus coriarius.

FIGURES 41–46. Galls on Quercus ithaburensis. 41. Synophrus politus, sexual generation; 42. Synophrus olivieri sexual generation; 43. Andricus miriami, asexual generation; 44. Same, old gall; 45. Chilaspis israeli, sexual generation; 46. Dryocosmus mayri, sexual generation.

FIGURES 11–16. Asexual generation galls on Quercus boissieri. 11. Andricus curtisii; 12. Andricus chodjaii; 13. Andricus quercustozae, young gall; 14. Andricus quercustozae, mature gall; 15. Andricus coriarius, mature gall; 16. Andricus coriarius, old gall.

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.

FIGURES 35–40. Galls on Quercus boissieri and Q. ithaburensis. 35. Neuroterus quercsbaccarum, asexual generation on Quercus boissieri; 36. Neuroterus quercsbaccarum (A) and Neuroterus numismalis (B), asexual generations on Q. boissieri; 37. Aphelonyx persica, asexual generation on Quercus ithaburensis; 38. Aphelonyx persica, asexual generation on Quercus ithaburensis, gall dissected to show inner chamber; 39. Aphelonyx persica gall ivaded by the inquiline Synergus variabilis on Quercus ithaburensis; 40. Same, old gall with emergence holes of inquilines.