Aphelonyx persica, Melika & Stone & Sadeghi & Pujade-Villar, 2004

Melika, G., Stone, G. N., Sadeghi, S. E. & Pujade-Villar, J., 2004, New Species Of Cynipid Gall Wasps From Iran And Turkey (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini), Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 50 (2), pp. 139-151 : 146-150

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.12586828
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/1D4ED56F-FF80-FF89-BBF7-A8CBFC18FC29
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Aphelonyx persica
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Aphelonyx persica sp. n.

( Figs 15–23 View Figs 15–23 , 31 View Fig )

Description – Asexual (parthenogenetic) female: Head, mesosoma, metasoma, and legs uniformly light-brown; only tips of mandibles black; in one specimen very narrow and short black marked stripes are visible along the middle part of the notauli. Head from above as broad as mesosoma or very slightly narrower, 1.4–1.5 times as broad as high in front view ( Fig. 15 View Figs 15–23 ); POD nearly equal OOD; LOD 0.5 times as long as OOD, and nearly 0.5 times as long as POD; head with depression in front of frontal ocellus; transfacial distance 1.6–1.7 times as long as height of lower face (distance between antennal rim and tip of clypeus); distance between antennal rims nearly equal to distance between antennal rim and inner margin of compound eye. Gena strongly broadened behind eye, slightly broader than diameter of compound eye, measured along the transfacial line; malar space without sulcus, 0.3 times the height of the compound eye; tentorial pits large and deep, line between them impressed and, thus distinctly separates the clypeus from the lower face ( Fig. 16 View Figs 15–23 ); clypeus coriaceous with some punctures, distinctly separated from face, emarginated distally and slightly overhanging mandibles ( Fig. 16 View Figs 15–23 ). Head uniformly coriaceous, with short striae irradiating from the clypeus to area between antennal foramens and frontal ocellus, which dull rugose; occiput behind rounded; entire head coated with white setae, especially long and dense on distal part of clypeus. Antenna 14-segmented; ratio of scapus, pedicell and subsequent flagellomeres next: 0.5:0.2:1.0:1.0:0.86:0.8:0.6:0.57:0.4:0.37:0.3:0.27:0.25:0.4; light brown as is the entire body ( Fig. 17 View Figs 15–23 ), location of placoid sensilla on F8–F12 – Fig. 18 View Figs 15–23 . Mesosoma 1.5 times as long as high; with uniform dense coat of white setae, except for the central portion of mesopleuron and shiny smooth propodeum. Pronotum laterally triangular, uniformly delicately rugose, distally very strongly emarginated ( Fig. 19 View Figs 15–23 ). Scutum uniformly rugose and pustulate, nearly as long as broad in dorsal view, notauli distinct and impressed in posterior 2/3, anterior parallel lines dinstinct and reach half length of scutum; parapsidal lines distinct and wide, starting from posterior margin of scutum and as long as notauli; median scutellar line absent; mesopleuron uniformly coriaceous, densely pubescent ( Fig. 20 View Figs 15–23 ). Scutellum as long as broad in dorsal view, rounded, strongly overhanging metanotum, with strong rugae, central area impressed; area between disk of scutellum and transscutal articulation impressed, shiny with strong rugae and with distinct strong central longitudinal carina, dividing this depression into two parts ( Fig. 20 View Figs 15–23 ). Fore wing 1.25 times as long as body length, hyaline, setae short, margin with very short cilia; veins distinct, dark brown, areolet present; radial cell open, 4.5 times as long as broad ( Fig. 21 View Figs 15–23 ). Legs uniformly light brown, with dense white setae; ratio of fore tarsomeres I–V: 1.0:0.36:0.24:0.15:0.51; hind tibia broadened to apex; ratio of hind tarsomeres I–V: 1.0:0.37: 0.21:0.17:0.45 ( Figs 22–23 View Figs 15–23 ). Propodeum shiny, smooth, without carinae or very weakly impressed; median propodeal area shinning without setae, lateral sculptured and pubescent. Metasoma laterally compressed, slightly higher than long in lateral view, densely pubescent; ventral spine of hypopygium long, needle like, nearly 4.5–5.0 times as long as broad, with sparse short white setae. Length 4.7–5.2 mm.

Type material – Holotype female: Iran, Tatineh (33°48’60’’N, 47°56’51’’E), north of Kermanshah, 2002.X.26, ex Quercus brantii , leg. G. N. STONE; 11 female paratypes: 2 with the same label as the holotype; 6 females labelled as “Iran, ex Quercus persica , coll. E. Sadeghi ”; 1 female with label white, handwritten “Dachté Arjen, X.1967. Q. persica ”, “ UNV-BCN, J. Pujade-Villar, Barbotin col.”; 1 female with the following labels: “W Khoramabad, X.1967, Quercus persica ” / “ UNV-BCN, J. Pujade-Villar, Barbotin col.”; and 1 with the following labels: “ IRAN, Aphelonyx cerricola ” / “ UNV-BCN, J. Pujade-Villar, Barbotin col.” GoogleMaps

Holotype, one female paratype and galls are deposited in the Natural History Museum (British Museum) ( NHML), 5 female paratypes in the cynipid collection of Systematic Parasitoid Laboratory ( SPL), Kőszeg, Hungary, 3 female paratypes in Barcelona University, 1 female paratype in the Hungarian Natural History Museum ( HNHM), Budapest, Hungary and 1 female paratype in the collection of the Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands , Tehran, Iran.

21 = fore wing, 22 = hind tibia, 23 = hind tarsus

Etymology — The specific name persica refers to the Persian region where this species is native, centred on the Quercus persica forests of the Zagros Mountains.

Gall structure and location — The gall when mature is up to 15 mm in diameter, greyishbrown in colour with a velvety, pubescent and slightly irregular surface ( Fig. 31 View Fig ). The gall is hollow, with a tough woody wall being 1.5–3.0 mm thick. The interior space contains a single larval chamber, which in the mature gall is unattached to the gall wall, and free-rolling. The larval chamber is ovoid, up to 6 mm in length, and has a tough but thin wall. Galls may be found singly or in groups, developing most commonly on lateral buds on young shoots. Solitary galls are almost spherical, while closely clustered galls may be deformed. Old galls are persistent on the host tree. The galls of A. cerricola differ in that (i) the gall surface is pubescent when young, but usually smooth and often with a varnished texture when mature, and the larval chamber is not free-rolling within the gall. Such free rolling inner cells are known for some American oak cynipid galls, and are thought to represent an adaptation to provide protection against attack by parasitoid wasps ( STONE et al. 2002).

Diagnosis – Aphelonyx persica is uniformly light brown, compound eyes are grey; the head is 1.4–1.5 times as broad as high in front view ( Fig. 15 View Figs 15–23 ); the pronotum emarginated distally ( Fig. 19 View Figs 15–23 ); the fore wing is 1.25 times as long as body length, the radial cell is 4.5 times as long as broad ( Fig. 21 View Figs 15–23 ); the hind tibia broadened to the apex; the ratio of hind tarsomeres I–V: 1.0:0.37:0.21:0.17:0.45 ( Figs 22–23 View Figs 15–23 ). The propodeum is without carinae or very weakly impressed; the central propodeal area is shinning without pilosity, while the lateral area is sculptured and pubescent.

In Aphelonyx cerricola the body is dark brown, the head between frontal ocellus and antennal foramens with a black spot; compound eyes black; the scutum with elongated notauli and anterior parallel lines with broad black stripes, the mesopleuron is entirely or partially black, the propodeum dark brown to black; the metasoma dorsally black. The head only 1.3 times as broad as high in front view ( Fig. 24 View Figs 24–30 ); the pronotum only slightly emarginated distally, almost straight ( Fig. 27 View Figs 24–30 ); the fore wing is 1.4 times as long as body length, the radial cell is 4.25 times as long as broad ( Fig. 28 View Figs 24–30 ); the hind tibia only slightly broadened to the apex, the ratio of hind tarsomeres I–V: 1.0:0.45:0.24:0.15:0.34 ( Figs 29–30 View Figs 24–30 ). The propodeum with lateral carinae curved and with some carinae int he central propodeal area.

All specimens of A. persica we examined are more robust, the body is 4.7–5.2 mm long, while females of A. cerricola are smaller (3.7–4.8 mm); also the location and number of placoid sensilla on F8–F12 of female antenna in the two species are different ( Figs 18 View Figs 15–23 , 26 View Figs 24–30 ).

Biology – Only the parthenogenetic females of Aphelonyx persica are known, as for A. cerricola . It was collected on Quercus brantii Lindl. (= Q. persica ), Q. libani and Q. castaneifolii . Galls were mature when collected on 26th October 2002, and the adults emerged in an outdoor insectory between 3 and 18 March 2003.

Distribution – Currently only known from Iran, from the type location, from Golestan (33°32’76” N, 48°04’34”E) in Lorestan; Guilan, East and West Azerbaijan, Phars Provinces.

Acknowledgements – We thank Ms. MÁRIA BECHTOLD (Systematic Parasitoid Laboratory) for making drawings from digital photographs and microscopic preparations and for mounting and labelling the type material, Ms. ERIKA NAGY ( University of West Hungary, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Mosonmagyaróvár, Hungary) for taking the SEM photographs .