Aulacidea Ashmead, 1897

Nastasi, Louis F., Buffington, Matthew L., Davis, Charles K. & Deans, Andrew R., 2024, Key to the North American tribes and genera of herb, rose, bramble, and inquiline gall wasps (Hymenoptera, Cynipoidea, Cynipidae sensu lato), ZooKeys 1196, pp. 177-207 : 177

Aulacidea Ashmead, 1897

Type species.

Aulax mulgediicola Ashmead, 1896 (= Aulacidea harringtoni [Ashmead, 1897])

Diagnosis

(based on North American taxa): Mesoscutum densely pubescent, often appearing silky but at least with rather abundant closely-set setae. Notauli almost always complete (incomplete only in an undescribed species from California). Mesopleuron transversely striate; with a small ventral patch of reticulate sculpture in Aulacidea acroptilonica Tyurebaev, 1972. Fore wing with marginal cell entirely closed, with R1 meeting Rs along anterior wing margin, always with areolet, and always with distinct marginal setae. Second metasomal tergite with a distinct patch of setae (absent in Aulacidea acroptilonica Tyurebaev, 1972 and sometimes appearing reduced in males of various species).

Note.

Aulacidea contains some 40 described species ( Azmaz and Katılmış 2020; Nieves-Aldrey 2022), 11 of which are known or suspected from North America ( Nastasi and Deans 2021). Native species known from North America induce galls primarily on species of Lactuca L., although one species ( A. nabali [Brodie, 1892]) induces galls on Nabalus Cass, and one species ( A. ambrosiaecola [Ashmead, 1896]) is doubtfully associated with Ambrosia L. Introduced or suspected species induce galls on Hieracium L., Pilosella Hill, and Rhaponticum Vaill. ( Nastasi and Deans 2021).

The number of established exotic Aulacidea is problematic as several species have apparently been introduced (e.g., Moffat and Smith 2015), but few records indicate whether they have successfully established. Aulacidea acroptilonica Tyurebaev is definitively established in the Pacific Northwest, but it is unclear whether A. subterminalis Niblett, 1946 or A. pilosellae (Kieffer, 1901) are truly established ( Nastasi and Deans 2021). A single A. pilosellae was collected via Malaise trap in Canada ( Moffat and Smith 2015), but there appear to be no subsequent records indicating establishment of this species in North America. The only accessible evidence of establishment of A. subterminalis in North America is a government report detailing introduction attempts in Canada ( Government of British Columbia 2018). Records appearing to represent A. hieracii (Linnaeus, 1758) on Hieracium umbellatum L. in North America have been confirmed since publication of the recent catalogue, although there are some disputes over whether the population present in the Nearctic is conspecific with those found in the Palearctic (unpublished data). Overall, more research is needed to substantiate the identity and establishment of the introduced taxa.

More generally, Aulacidea was erected by Ashmead for herb gall wasps (then, the tribe Aylacini ) with a closed marginal cell; this conception of Aulacidea remains virtually unchanged at present. As with Antistrophus , Aulacidea is poorly circumscribed, and the limits of this genus require adjustment ( Ronquist et al. 2015; Nieves-Aldrey 2022).

North American species (Nastasi and Deans 2021):

1. Aulacidea abdita Kinsey, 1920

2. Aulacidea acroptilonica Tyurebaev, 1972

3. Aulacidea ambrosiaecola (Ashmead, 1896)

4. Aulacidea annulata Kinsey, 1920

5. Aulacidea harringtoni (Ashmead, 1887)

6. Aulacidea hieracii (Linnaeus, 1758)

7. Aulacidea nabali (Brodie, 1892)

8. Aulacidea pilosellae (Kieffer, 1901)

9. Aulacidea podagrae (Bassett, 1890)

10. Aulacidea subterminalis Niblett, 1946

11. Aulacidea tumida (Bassett, 1890)