Synergus ochreus Fullaway, 1911

Lobato-Vila, Irene & Pujade-Villar, Juli, 2021, The genus Synergus Hartig (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Synergini) in the New World: a complete taxonomic revision with a key to species, Zootaxa 4906 (1), pp. 1-121 : 74-76

Synergus ochreus Fullaway, 1911

( Figure 29 )

Synergus ochreus Fullaway, 1911 . Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 4: 368. Type material: CAS (lectotype), paralectotypes in CAS and USNM .

Type material. LECTOTYPE ♀ (examined) with the following labels: ‘ L.S.Jr. U., Lot. 499, Sub. 21’ (white label) / ‘Type’ (red label) / ‘ ochreus’ (white label, handwritten) / ‘ Synergus ochreus Full , Type’ (white label with a black frame, handwritten) / ‘ California Academy of Sciences , Type No. 5828’ (white label) / ‘Lectotype ♀ Synergus ochreus Fullaway, 1911 IL-V desig-2019’ (red label). PARALECTOTYPES (1♀) deposited in USNM (examined) with the following labels: ‘ Steven Creek Canyon, Calif., R. W. Patterson’ (white label, handwritten) / ‘ L.S.Jr. U., Lot. 499, Sub. 21’ (white label) / ‘ Cotype’ (pink label) / ‘ Synergus ochreus Full. ’ (white label, handwritten) / ‘ Beut. Coll. Rec’d 1939’ (white label) / ‘ Cotype No. 53992, USNM’ (red label) / ‘ Paralectotype ♀ Synergus ochreus Fullaway, 1911 IL-V desig-2019’ (red label). Two more specimens (sex unknown, not examined) that are deposited in CAS ( R. Zuparko pers. comm.) remain under the category of syntype .

Other material examined (24♂ & 22♀). Material deposited in USNM with the following labels: ‘620’ (white label, handwritten) / ‘Sonoma Co. Cal.’ (white label) / ‘Ex. Disholcaspis eldoradensis Beut. ’ (white label, handwritten) / ‘ Synergus ochreus Full. ’ (white label with a black frame, handwritten) (1♂); ‘620’ (white label, handwritten) / ‘Sonoma Co. Cal.’ (white label) (2♂ & 1♀); ‘Lebec, Calif.’ (white label, handwritten) / ‘Cut out Nov. 10’ (white label) / ‘ Q. lobata ’ (white label) / ‘Ex. 1662’ (white label, handwritten) / ‘more in USNM’ (white label, handwritten) / ‘ Synergus ochreus Full. ’ (white label with a black frame, handwritten) (1♀); ‘HopkUS, 13651 m’ (white label) / ‘Reared June 4–19’ (white label) / ‘ Quercus durata ’ (white label) / ‘Los Gatos, Calif.’ (white label) / ‘F R Herbert Colr.’ (white label) / ‘USNMENT 00960903’ (white label, QR code) (1♀); same data, but different QR codes: 21♂ & 18♀; ‘HopkUS, 10781 s’ (white label) / ‘Reared July 9–19’ (white label) / ‘ Quercus oblongifolia ’ (white label) / ‘Sycamore Flat., Ariz.’ (white label) / ‘G Hofer Colr.’ (white label) / ‘Ex gall of a Disholcaspis’ (white label, handwritten) / ‘ Synergus ochreus Full. ?’ (white label with a black frame, handwritten) / ‘USNMENT 00960496’ (white label, QR code) (1♀).

Diagnosis. Synergus ochreus belongs to a group of species characterized by having the mesopleuron entirely sculptured, including the speculum, without smooth spots; hyaline wings and radial cell of fore wing at most 2.5 times as long as wide; POL as long as OOL or longer; F1 as long as F2, antenna 14 or 15-segmented in females; lateral pronotum wrinkled or carinated, at least ventrally; mesoscutum with transversal carinae, interspaces sculptured, rarely coriaceous with weak transversal elements; notauli complete, reaching the posterior margin of pronotum; tarsal claws bidentate, with a distinct basal lobe; first metasomal segment completely sulcate dorsally and laterally; and syntergum posteriorly with a band of micropunctures. Synergus ochreus differs from the rest of species sharing these traits ( S. ficigerae , S. duricorius , S. beutenmulleri , S. linnei , S. erinacei , S. nigroornatus , S. oneratus and S. rutulus ) by having female with head and mesosoma entirely yellowish brown (ochre) and metasoma entirely yellow ( Fig. 29 a–c) (darker, at least with some dark surfaces, in the rest of species, Figs 5 a–b, e; 16a–c; 17a–c; 21; 18a–c; 25a–d; 30a–j; 37a–c); female antenna with 15 segments (14 in the rest of species); gena slightly broadened behind eye (usually not broadened in the rest of species); and syntergum posteriorly with a very narrow band of micropunctures extended laterally at most 1/6 of its length (with a more widespread band of micropunctures, usually extended laterally from 1/4 to more than 1/2 of its length in the rest of species).

Redescription

FEMALE. Length. Body length 2.5–3.0 mm (n = 24).

Color ( Fig. 29 ). Yellowish brown (ochre). Head yellowish brown, except for some dark areas surrounding the ocelli. Antenna yellow. Mesosoma yellowish brown; tegulae yellow. Metasoma yellow. Legs yellow. Wings hyaline, veins yellow.

Head. In frontal view subtrapezoid, about 1.1 times as wide as high, gena slightly broadened behind eye. Face faintly pubescent, lower face with striae radiating from clypeus. Clypeus indistinct, ventral margin almost straight, not projected over mandibles. Malar space almost 0.6 times as long as height of eye. Anterior tentorial pits visible; pleurostomal and epistomal sulcus absent. Transfacial line about as long as height of eye. Toruli situated mid-height of eye; distance between torulus and eye shorter than diameter of torulus; distance between toruli shorter than diameter of toruli. Frons weakly wrinkled; frontal carinae narrow, branched in their whole length, reaching lateral ocelli. Head in dorsal view ( Fig. 29c ) is almost 2.0 times as wide as long. Vertex weakly wrinkled. POL: OOL: LOL = 12: 9: 6 and diameter of lateral ocelli, 7. Occiput weakly wrinkled with some punctures.

Antenna. 15-segmented; filiform, not broadened apically; pubescence dense and short. Scape plus pedicel about as long as F1; pedicel 1.3 times as long as wide; F1 about as long as F2, F2 and F3 subequal; the following segments progressively shorter. Last flagellar segment about 3.0 times as long as wide and about as long as F12.

Mesosoma. About 1.1 times as long as high in lateral view, including nucha, with short and not dense pubescence ( Fig. 29a ). Ratio of length of pronotum medially/laterally: 0.3. Pronotal plate indistinct. Lateral pronotum wrinkled; lateral carina absent, lateral margins of pronotum rounded seen from above. Mesoscutum ( Fig. 29c ) about as wide as long, strongly and densely discontinuously carinated; anterior parallel lines shallow, reaching somewhat more than 1/3 of the mesoscutum; notauli complete and visible in their whole length, convergent posteriorly; median mesoscutal line absent; parapsidal lines inconspicuous. Mesoscutellum ( Fig. 29c ) about as long as wide, strongly wrinkled; circumscutellar carina weak, obscured by wrinkles; scutellar foveae ovate, large, shallow, smooth, the posterior margin not well defined and separated by a narrow carina. Mesopleuron ( Fig. 29b ) regularly, not densely, striated, interspaces smooth. Metapleural sulcus reaching 3/4 of mesopleural height. Propodeum pubescent and alutaceous; propodeal carinae slightly curved outwards and convergent posteriorly. Nucha sulcate dorsally and laterally.

Legs. Tarsal claws with basal lobe.

Wings. Fore wing pubescent with short marginal setae, shorter than the body length. Radial cell closed, about 2.4 times as long as wide; areolet small, almost inconspicuous. Rs+M inconspicuous, not reaching the basal vein. Basal cell with sparsely spaced setae.

Metasoma. About as long as head plus mesosoma and slightly longer than high in lateral view. First metasomal segment sulcate dorsally and laterally. Syntergum smooth, anterolateral pubescence composed of a few setae and posteriorly with a narrow band of micropunctures extended no more than 1/6 of its length; weakly dorsodistally incised, not pointed. Hypopygial spine almost 2.0 times as long as wide and with a few lateral setae; without apical setae.

MALE. Similar to female, except for the following: body length 2.0 mm (n = 24). F1 very weakly incised and curved, slightly broadened. Malar space 0.5 times as long as height of eye. Metasoma shorter than head plus mesosoma. Frons, vertex, occiput, mesosoma and metasoma, dark; legs yellow, metatibiae and metatarsi, dark.

Distribution. USA: California ( Fullaway 1911) and Arizona (authors).

Biology. Reared from galls of Cynips multipunctata (Beutenmüller, 1911) on Q. lobata ( Fullaway 1911; Mc-Cracken & Egbert 1922), which now corresponds to Besbicus conspicuus ( Kinsey, 1930) (= Cynips (Besbicus) multipunctata var. conspicua ) ( Kinsey 1930). However, and according to Weld (1951) and Burks (1979), S. ochreus was obtained from galls of Amphibolips quercuspomiformis (Bassett, 1881) (see remarks). According to the labels of some non-type specimens found in USNM, S. ochreus is also reared from galls of Disholcaspis eldoradensis (Beutenmüller, 1909) on Quercus sp.; from Disholcaspis sp. on Q. oblongifolia , in Arizona; and from unspecified galls on Q. lobata and Q. dumosa .

Remarks. Synergus ochreus was described from an unstated number of females ( Fullaway 1911: 368), since the original description was based only on females (males are not mentioned as is the case in other descriptions by the same author and paper). We located and examined 2♀ belonging to the type series: 1♀ deposited in CAS with a ‘Type’ red label and 1♀ deposited in USNM, as well as two more syntypes deposited in CAS that were not examined (R. Zuparko pers. comm.). A lectotype has herein been designated and deposited in CAS.

Weld (1951), and subsequently Burks (1979), stated that the host gall of Synergus ochreus is A. quercuspomiformis ; however, this gall is not found on Q. lobata , so this biological data could be erroneous. For more details on the gall Cynips multipunctata , see remarks concerning S. dimorphus .

Figures

FIGURE 5. Synergus beutenmulleri Lobato-Vila & Pujade-Villar, sp. nov. Female: a) lateral habitus; b) mesosoma in dorsal view; e) head in frontal view. Male: c) lateral habitus; d) detail of the first antennal segments.

FIGURE 29. Synergus ochreus (lectotype, Type No. 5828): a) lateral habitus; b) mesopleuron; c) head and mesosoma in dorsal view.