Phanacis urhani, Azmaz & Katilmiş, 2021

Azmaz, Musa & Katilmiş, Yusuf, 2021, Three new species of herb gall wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) from Turkey, European Journal of Taxonomy 757, pp. 152-168 : 162-167

Phanacis urhani sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:9804711C-52E3-4E4B-989B-A8C0A912F011

Figs 7–8

Diagnosis

Together with Phanacis caulicola and P. hypochoeridis (Kieffer, 1887) form a group of species in which scutellar foveae separated by a central carina; radial cell partially opened along wing margin. Most closely related to P. caulicola , but in P. urhani sp. nov. POL 1.8 times as long as OOL and 3.6 times as long as diameter of lateral ocellus; notauli extending to half-length of scutum; median mesoscutal line absent; areolet distinct, while in P. caulicola POL 1.2 times as long as OOL and 3.0 times as long as diameter of lateral ocellus; notauli distinctly impressed only in posterior half, reaching pronotum but very indistinct, shallow; median mesoscutal line usually longer, reaching at least to ⅓ of scutum length; areolet absent.

Etymology

In honour of Prof. Dr Raşit Urhan who is a senior acarologist.

Type material

Holotype

TURKEY • ♀; Ordu Province, Akkuş, Yolbaşı ; 40°42′ N, 37°00′ E; 980 m a.s.l.; ex Cirsium vulgare (Savi) Ten., 1835 –36 ( Asteraceae ); M. Azmaz and Y. Katılmış leg.; gall collected 14 Mar. 2019; adult emerged Jul. 2019; PAU.

Paratypes

TURKEY • 2 ♀♀; Ordu Province; same collection data as for holotype; PAU .

Description

Female

LENGTH. 1.8–2.0 mm.

COLOURATION. Head and mesosoma black, metasoma dark brown. Antennae dark brown, legs light brown to yellowish, with darker coxae. Wing veins distinct, brown.

HEAD. Delicately coriaceous to alutaceous, with uniformly sparse white setae, 1.9–2.0 times as broad as long from above, 1.1 times as broad as high and slightly broader than mesosoma. Gena alutaceous, not broadened behind eye; not visible behind eye in front view. Malar space coriaceous, 0.6–0.7 times as long as height of eye, with delicate striae, radiating from clypeus and nearly reaching inner margin of eye. POL 1.8 times as long as OOL; 2.1 times as long as LOL and 3.6 times as long as diameter of lateral ocellus. Transfacial distance 1.3 times as long as height of eye; diameter of antennal torulus 2.2 times as long as distance between them and 0.7 times as long as distance between torulus and eye margin. Lower face with striae, radiating from clypeus and nearly reaching eye and antennal sockets, median elevated area slightly coriaceous with interrupted striae. Clypeus with striae, very narrow and small; with very indistinct anterior tentorial pits, epistomal sulcus and clypeo-pleurostomal line indistinct, ventral margin nearly straight. Frons, vertex and occiput delicately coriaceous to alutaceous. Postgena alutaceous, with more dense setae than on front of head.

ANTENNA. 13-segmented, longer than head+mesosoma; pedicel 1.5 times as long as broad; F1 1.9 times as long as pedicel and F1 1.2 times as long as F2, F2 equal F3; placodeal sensilla F2–F11.

MESOSOMA. Convex, longer than high in lateral view, with uniform very sparse white setae. Pronotum uniformly alutaceous dorsally, uniformly delicately coriaceous laterally; anterior margin with more dense setae. Submedian pronotal pits indistinct, in form of transverse impression, medially separated by a narrow carina. Scutum broader than long, 1.6 times as long as scutellum, uniformly coriaceous to alutaceous. Notauli distinctly impressed, extending to half-length of scutum; median mesoscutal line absent; parapsidal lines narrow, extending slightly above tegula level; anterior parallel lines narrow, distinct, extending to ⅓ of scutum length. Scutellum rounded with very sparse setae, as long as broad; dull rugose along sides and posteriorly, more delicately coriaceous towards centre of disk. Scutellar foveae separated by a central carina, indistinctly delimited posteriorly, with irregular longitudinal rugae. Mesopleuron uniformly reticulate; mesopleural triangle reticulate, with setae. Metapleural sulcus reaching mesopleuron above ½ of its height; axillula very narrow wrinkled, with white setae; subaxillular bar smooth, shining, narrower than height of metanotal trough; metapleuron wrinkled, rugose. Dorsellum rugose, very narrowly medially or invisible; ventral impressed area rugose. Propodeum rugose with setae, lateral propodeal carinae subparallel; central propodeal area delicately rugose, with white setae; lateral propodeal area rugose, with dense white setae; propodeal spiracle strongly elevated; nucha with some longitudinal sulci.

FORE WING. Margin with long cilia; R1 reaching wing margin and not extending along margin (open along wing margin), radial cell partially closed, areolet distinct, Rs + M extending to half of distance between areolet and basalis. Tarsal claws narrow, without basal lobe.

METASOMA. Slightly longer than high in lateral view; metasomal tergite 2 without setae anterolaterally and impunctate; only metasomal tergite 6, subsequent tergites and hypopygium with some indistinct punctures; prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium short, with some short white setae.

Male

Unknown.

Biology

Only females are known. The adult wasps are known to induce galls on Cirsium vulgare (Asteraceae) . Larvae overwinter in the gall, adults emerge next summer, in July. Another herb gall wasp, Isocolus cirsii Diakontschuk, 1987 , induces galls in flower heads of Cirsium ukranicum Besser ex DC. (Asteraceae) ( Melika 2006).

Distribution

Currently known only from Turkey (Ordu).

Gall structure

The gall is located on the stem ( Fig. 9 ), in the form of an irregular swelling, 50–80 mm long. There are small larval cells in the typical form inside the stem. Multilocular.

Figures

Fig. 7. Phanacis urhani sp. nov., ♀. a. Head in anterior view. b. Mesosoma in dorsal view. c. Metasoma in lateral view. d. Head in dorsal view. e. Scutum in dorsal view. f. Scutellum in dorsal view.

Fig. 8. Phanacis urhani sp. nov., ♀. a. Mesosoma in lateral view. b. Mesopleuron. c. Mesosoma in posterior view. d. Antenna. e. Leg. f. Radial cell of forewing.

Fig. 9. Phanacis urhani sp. nov., mature gall on host plant, Cirsium vulgare (Savi) Ten. (photos by M. Azmaz).