Diplolepis nezha Hu, Zhang, McCormack & Fang, 2025

Fang, Zhiqiang, Hu, Wenqian, Mccormack, Koorosh, Pos, Davide Dal, Tang, Chang-Ti, Zhu, Ying, Mao, Kangshan, Stone, Graham N. & Zhang, Y. Miles, 2025, New species of rose gall wasp Diplolepis Geoffroy, 1762 (Hymenoptera: Diplolepididae) and its parasitoid Orthopelma Taschenberg, 1865 (Hymenoptera Ichneumonidae) on a rare endemic rose species in Sichuan, China, Zootaxa 5706 (2), pp. 231-246 : 234-237

Diplolepis nezha Hu, Zhang, McCormack & Fang , sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:

Figures 3–5

Materials examined. HOLOTYPE: 1F, CHINA: Sichuan Province, WangCang County, GaoYang Town, MengZi Village, TianXingQiao , ex. Rosa chinensis var. spontanea (EM-Morpho-186), 32.286N, 106.283E, 510m, gall collected 18.XI.2018 (EM-3399), adult emerged 8.III.2019 (Tube-08089), leg. ZhiQiang Fang. PARATYPE: 1F, same as holotype; deposited at EBRRS .

Diagnosis: Diplolepis nezha keys to couplet five of Zhu et al. (2021), which includes all known Chinese Diplolepis species, and can be separated from all other species with the combination of shorter radial cell (2.1× longer than wide), head trapezoid, and median mesoscutal line present. This species can then be separated from D. valtonyci in couplet five, by the presence of a large areolet (the areolet is inconspicuous in D. valtonyci ), and frons rugose (the frons is coriaceous in D. valtonyci ).

Description. Female. Body length 3.8 mm (n = 2).

Color. Antenna with scape dark brown basally, apically light brown; pedicel dark brown, flagellomeres black ( Fig. 3C ). Head and mesosoma black. Mandibles brown, with black tips and labial palpi brown.Legs light brown, tarsi darker and coxae dark brown to orange-brown. Metasoma orange-brown; with anteroventral third and hypopygium darker brown ( Fig. 5C ). Wings hyaline, infuscated around R1; wing veins distinct, dark brown ( Fig. 4B ).

Head. Head trapezoid in frontal view, slightly wider than mesosoma in dorsal view, 1.4× as broad as high in frontal view and 2.3× as broad as long in dorsal view. Ratio of POL: OOL: LOL = 3: 2.3: 1 ( Fig. 3B ). Clypeus pentagonal, broader than high, coriaceous, largely glabrous with setae along the ventral edge, ventrally rounded, not emarginate and without median incision. Gena coriaceous, with piliferous punctures, broadened behind eye in frontal view. Transfacial distance 1.6× longer than height of eye; diameter of antennal toruli 1.3× longer than the distance between them, and distance between torulus and eye margin 1.4× longer than torulus diameter. Inner margins of eyes parallel ( Fig. 5A ). Frons and vertex coriaceous to rugose extending to ocellar triangle and around lateral ocelli; occiput coriaceous ( Fig. 3B ).

Antenna. 0.8× as long as body; 14-segmented, 1.7× longer than head plus mesosoma; pedicel slightly longer than broad; Ratio of scape: pedicel: F1–12 is 1.7: 1: 3.7:2.4:2.4:2.3:2.3:2.3:1.7:1.4:1.3:1.3:1:1.7 ( Fig. 3C ).

Mesosoma. Pronotum very narrow, coarsely punctured, almost smooth in the middle and rugulose with some carinae in the basal part. Mesoscutum longer than wide and 2.5× longer than the scutellum, coriaceous, without distinct punctures. Notauli complete, convergent posteriorly; median mesoscutal line present, deep, at least the level of tegulae; parapsidal lines visible, narrow, shining, reaching tegulae; anterior parallel lines shallow, smooth, extending to half the length of the scutum ( Fig. 3B ). Scutellum wider than long, and the lower part of the scutellum is slightly pointed, dull, rugose with interspaces coriaceous ( Fig. 5B ). Scutellar foveae absent. Mesopleuron largely setose, with a patch of smooth and shining area posteriorly, with a strong transverse dull rugose furrow. Dorsal axilla smooth. Lateral propodeal area setose, rugose; medial propodeal area delimited by irregularly formed carinae, largely smooth with some horizontal striae ( Fig. 5D ). Nucha dorsally sulcate.

Fore wing. Pubescent in surface and margin. Radial cell closed, 2.1× longer than wide, Vein Rs straight, 2r curved, but not extending into radial cell. Areolet large, well defined. Rs+M well-marked and reaching M in the lower third ( Fig. 4B ).

Legs. Tarsal claws without basal lobe.

Metasoma. Slightly shorter than head plus mesosoma length (0.9×); in lateral view, slightly longer than high. In dorsal view, second metasomal tergite takes up more than half of the metasoma; micropunctures present on all tergites ( Fig. 4A ). Hypopygium plough-shaped, shining, smooth and large; prominent part of the ventral spine of the hypopygium very thin, 3× longer than broad, with sparse white setae, apical setae short, not extending behind the apex of the spine ( Fig. 5C ).

Male. Unknown.

Gall. Uniocular, integral leaf gall on or close to lateral veins of R. chinensis var. spontanea , shape round but flattened in plane of leaf, with central pit in upper and lower surfaces; coloration pale yellow-green; texture shiny and waxy; length 2–3mm, diameter 5–6mm on upper surface, 8–12mm on lower surface ( Fig. 5E , 3F ). Fresh in October, wasp emergence in March in laboratory conditions.

Etymology. Named after Ne Zha, a rebellious and fiery child-deity in Chinese mythology emerged from a ball of flesh, resembling the round gall this species induces. The name is used as a noun in apposition.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Diplolepis nezha. A) Lateral habitus. B) Head + mesosoma in dorsal view. C) Antenna.

FIGURE 4. Diplolepis nezha. A) Dorsal habitus. B) Fore wing.

FIGURE 5. Diplolepis nezha. A) Head in frontal view. B) Scutellum. C) Metasoma in lateral view. D) Propodeum. E) Mature galls. F) Dissected gall with mature larva.