Dryocosmus caspiensis Melika, Sadeghi, Atkinson, Stone & Barimani, 2008

Tavakoli, M., Melika, G., Sadeghi, S. E., Pénzes, Z., Assareh, M. A., Atkinson, R., Bechtold, M., Mikó, I., Zargaran, M. R., Aligolizade, D., Barimani, H., Bihari, P., Pirozi, F., Fülöp, D., Somogyi, K., Challis, R., Preuss, S., Nicholls, J. & Stone, G. N., 2008, New species of oak gallwaps from Iran (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini), Zootaxa 1699 (1), pp. 1-64 : 31-33

Dryocosmus caspiensis Melika, Sadeghi, Atkinson, Stone & Barimani , new species

Figs 224–234

Type material. HOLOTYPE female: Iran, Mazandaran Province, Sari, Shahid Zare Park , 60 m a.s.l., Q. castaneifolia, 2004 . IV.14., em. 27 May 2004. leg. H. Barimani. PARATYPES: 20 females with the same labels as the holotype. The holotype and 5 female paratypes in HNHM ; 5 female paratypes in RIFR ; 8 female paratypes in SPL; 2 female paratypes in NHML .

Etymology. The species is named in recognition of its distribution along the Caspian Sea shore, where Quercus castaneifolia C.A.Mey grows.

Diagnosis. The two most closely related species are Dryocosmus israeli (Sternlicht) and D. nitidus (Giraud) , recently moved to Dryocosmus by the synonymization of Chilaspis Mayr to Dryocosmus Giraud ( Ács et al. 2007). According to our collecting data, only D. israeli is found in Iran (Guilan, Mazandaran, East and West Azarbaijan, Kordestan, Lorestan, Kermanshah, Ilam, Phars Provinces) on Quercus castaneifolia C.A.Mey , Q. brantii Lindl. and Q. libani Olivier. The galls of both generations of D. israeli are very similar to those of D. nitidus , and it is very difficult to distinguish the two species on the basis of the galls only, but the adult wasps are quite different morphologically ( Pujade-Villar et al. 2003). Citations of D. nitidus for Iran ( Chodjai 1980) are incorrect and they refer to D. israeli . Dryocosmus israeli and Dryocosmus caspiensis , new species, coexist in the same localities and even on the same trees of Q. castaneifolia ; both were found by us in the same Q. castaneifolia stands in different localities in Mazandaran and Guilan Provinces. In Dryocosmus israeli asexual females, the pedicel and scape are not broadened, only slightly or not broader than flagellomeres, all flagellomeres nearly of the same width; the mesoscutellum with wrinkles and rugae along lateral and posterior sides, scutellar foveae are not so distinctly delimited by the median carina; galls are larger, with velvety surface; adults 2–3 mm in length. In D. caspiensis , new species, in the female antenna the pedicel and scape are very strongly broadened, at least 2.2–2.5 times broader than flagellomeres; flagellomeres towards the apex broadened, F8–F12 at least 2.0 times as broad as the first flagellomeres; the mesoscutellum with narrow stripe of wrinkles and rugae along lateral and posterior sides, scutellar foveae are distinctly delimited by the median carina and posteriorly; galls are smaller, with dense hairs on the surface; adults only 1.1-1.5 mm in length.

Description. ASEXUAL FEMALE (holotype). Body mostly light brown; vertex, occiput and interocellar area dark brown to black; antennae, except light brown scape, pedicel and F1, darker, especially terminal flagellomeres; eyes dark brown to black; tarsal claws black; tergite 2 dorsally and laterally light brown, subsequent tergites dark brown. Entire body, including head, mesosoma and metasoma without setae, with only very few short white setae on the head and mesosoma.

Head 2.3 times as broad as long from above, 1.3 times as broad as high and slightly broader than mesosoma in front view. Gena smooth, shiny, without sculpture, very slightly broadened behind eye in front view, slightly narrower than the cross diameter of eye from lateral view; malar space with very delicate striae radiat- ing from clypeus and reaching to half or slightly more of its length, 0.3 times as long as height of eye. POL 0.7 times as broad as OOL, OOL 3.7 times as long as diameter of lateral ocellus and 2.5 times as long as LOL. Inner margins of eyes parallel or only very slightly converging ventrally in some specimens. Transfacial distance 1.2 times as long as height of eye and 1.7 times as long as height of lower face (distance between antennal rim and tip of clypeus); diameter of torulus nearly equal to the distance between them, distance between torulus and inner margin of eye 1.8 times as large as the diameter of torulus; lower face alutaceous, with few short white setae, median area strongly elevated, alutaceous. Clypeus small, rectangular, delicately coriaceous, with strongly elevated central area, anterior tentorial pits, epistomal sulcus and clypeo-pleurostomal line distinct, shallow, ventrally emarginated. Frons, vertex, interocellar area and occiput smooth, shiny, without surface sculpture. Labial palpus 3-segmented, maxillar palpus 4-segmented. Antenna with 12 flagellomeres; longer than mesosoma; pedicel and scape very strongly broadened, at least 2.2–2.5 times broader than flagellomeres; F1 slightly longer than pedicel, nearly as long as F2–F4; F5–F11 also nearly equal in length, slightly shorter than F1–F4; F12 slightly longer than F1 and 1.2–1.4 times as long as F11. Placodeal sensilla on F1–F12, in one row.

Mesosoma very high, only 1.2 times as long as high. Pronotum smooth, shiny, with delicate striae in the postero-dorsal part; emarginated along the ventro-lateral edge, with distinct striae along the impressed emarginated anterior rim; anterior rim of pronotum light brown, narrow, propleuron light brown, alutaceous, concave in medio-central part. Mesoscutum smooth, shiny, with few short white setae along notauli and lateral edges; distinctly broader than long in dorsal view (largest width measured on the level of the base of tegulae); from the level of tegula narrowing down toward posterior end. Notauli complete, shallow and narrow but distinctly impressed, strongly converging and slightly broadened at the posterior end, distance between notauli more than 2.0 times less than distance between notaulus and lateral edge of scutum; anterior parallel lines invisible, absent; parapsidal lines indistinct, in a form of a slightly darker stripes; median mesoscutal line absent. Mesoscutellum quadrangular, elongated, with nearly parallel lateral sides, 1.5 times as long as broad from dorsal view, smooth, shiny, emarginated along lateral and posterior edges, smooth, shiny, without surface sculpture, however, with strong rugae laterally; slightly overhanging metanotum; scutellar foveae subquadrangular, with shiny smooth bottom, separated by a distinct narrow median carina, occupying 1/4 of scutellum length. Mesopleuron smooth, shiny, without striae, acetabular carina delimiting a very narrow area laterally. Dorsal and lateral axillar areas smooth, shiny, with few short white setae, axilla and axillula delicately coriaceous, with sparse white setae; height of shiny, smooth subaxillular bar posteriorly nearly equal to the height of metanotal trough; metapleural sulcus reaching mesopleuron slightly above the half of its height. Metascutellum alutaceous to delicately coriaceous, very short, only slightly higher than height of ventral impressed area of metanotum, which is smooth, shiny, without wrinkles; metanotal trough alutaceous, with very few short white setae. Central propodeal area smooth, shiny, lateral propodeal carinae curved outwards in the middle; lateral propodeal area coriaceous, with very few white setae. Tarsal claws simple, without lobe. Forewing longer than body, hyaline, with very long and dense cilia on margin, veins light brown, radial cell 5.5 times as long as broad; R1 not reaching wing margin, straight; Rs slightly curved in the second half, nearly reaching wing margin; areolet very small, triangular, closed and indistinct; Rs+M reaches basalis in the lower half.

Metasoma very strongly compressed laterally, much higher than long in lateral view, nearly as long as head+mesosoma; metasomal tergite 2 occupying without a little half length of metasoma in dorsal view, without basal white setae laterally; all tergites smooth, shiny, without micropunctures. Ventral spine of hypopygium very short, prominent part less than 2.0 times as long as broad, with very few short white setae, not extending beyond the apex of spine. Body length 1.1–1.5 mm.

MALE unknown.

Gall ( Figs 233–234 ). Asexual generation. Gall on the underside of the leaf, rounded or slightly ovate, egg-shaped, 1.3–2.1 mm in diameter, 3–6 or even more galls can be found on one leaf. The surface of the gall covered with dense brownish short hairs. Galls are attached to the lateral veins by a short peduncle. Monolocular, with a thin wall. The mature galls easily detachable and fall from the leaves, and become dark brown in colour.

Biology. Only the asexual generation is known, and induces tiny globular detachable leaf galls on Quercus castaneifolia C.A.Mey. This is the only oak host known for this species, with no records from Quercus brantii Lindl. or Q. libani Olivier. Galls develop in April, adult wasps emerge in late May. The biology of other Dryocosmus species suggests that a sexual generation will be found on the same oak host.

Distribution. Currently known from Iran, Mazanderan (collected near Chalus, Babol Sar, Sari, Behshahr, Babol, along the Caspian Sea shore, 20–400 m a.s.l.) and Guilan (near Rasht city and along Talish Mountains from the Caspian Sea shore). Probably distributed wherever Q. castaneifolia grows, including the Kolkhida lowlands in Azerbaijan. Further sampling in similar habitats is required to establish its true distribution.

Figures

FIGURES 224–232. Dryocosmus caspiensis, new species, asexual female: 224, head (front view); 225, head (dorsal view); 226, antenna; 227, mesoscutum (dorsal view); 228, mesoscutellum (dorsal view); 229, mesosoma (lateral view); 230, metanotum and propodeum (postero-dorsal view); 231, forewing; 232, metasoma (lateral view).

FIGURES 233–234. Dryocosmus caspiensis, new species, gall (photos by G. Melika).