Neuroterus rosieae Melika, Nicholls & Stone, 2021

Melika, George, Nicholls, James A., Abrahamson, Warren G., Buss, Eileen A. & Stone, Graham N., 2021, New species of Nearctic oak gall wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae, Cynipini), Zootaxa 5084 (1), pp. 1-131 : 111-114

Neuroterus rosieae Melika, Nicholls & Stone , sp. nov.

Figs. 406–421

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:621BA670-0C0C-4835-96D6-D4D6438879A0

Type material: HOLOTYPE female “ USA, Arizona, 5km N of Payson. Leg. J. Nicholls. 2008.04.12. Code AZ1865, spAZb22; ex Quercus turbinella ” . PARATYPES: (6 females and 5 males): 3 females and 3 males with the same labels as the holotype; 1 female “ USA, Arizona, Lower Oak Creek Canyon , leg. J. Nicholls, 2008.04.11. Code AZ1933, ex Quercus arizonica ” ; 2 females and 2 males “ USA, Arizona, Stoneman Lake Road at I17, 2008.04.10. Code AZ1964, leg. J. Nicholls, ex Quercus turbinella ”. The holotype and one male are deposited at the USNM , 6 females and 4 males at the PHDNRL .

Etymology. Named after Rosie Stone, daughter of Prof. G.N. Stone (Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, UK).

Diagnosis. Neuroterus rosieae belongs to Kinsey’s subgenus Diplobius . It possesses an unusual character, namely that the entire metasoma is covered with parallel longitudinal striae, with distinct punctures. No other Neuroterus species is known to have such peculiar metasomal sculpturing. Only N. stonei has some delicate longitudinal striae but only on the fifth tergum.

Description. Sexual female ( Figs. 406–408, 411, 413–418 ). Head, mesosoma and metasoma black; mandibles, maxillary and labial palpi, antennae brown; eyes silvery, legs dark brown.

Head alutaceous, with sparse white setae, 1.25× as broad as high and slightly broader than mesosoma in frontal view, 2.2× as broad as long in dorsal view. Gena alutaceous, not broadened behind eye in frontal view, narrower than transverse diameter of eye in lateral view. Malar space with delicate parallel striae radiating from clypeus and reaching eye margin, malar sulcus absent. Eye 3.0× as high as length of malar space. Inner margins of eyes diverge ventrally. POL 2.3× as long as OOL; OOL as long as diameter of lateral ocellus and equal to LOL; all ocelli ovate, of same size. Transfacial distance shorter than height of eye; diameter of antennal torulus 1.2× as long as distance between them, distance between torulus and eye nearly equal to diameter of torulus; lower face and slightly elevated median area uniformly alutaceous, without striae. Clypeus large, trapezoid, alutaceous, broader than high; ventrally rounded, emarginate, without median incision and with a few long setae; anterior tentorial pits large, rounded, epistomal sulcus and clypeo-pleurostomal line distinct, broad. Frons and elevated interocellar area alutaceous, with some short white setae. Vertex, occiput, postocciput, postgena uniformly alutaceous, with some setae; occipital foramen longer than height of postgenal bridge; hypostomal carina emarginate, continuing into distinct postgenal sulci which are distinctly bent outwards; postgenal bridge broad. Antenna longer than head+mesosoma with 12 flagellomeres, pedicel 1.9× as long as broad; F1 1.6× as long as pedicel, F1=F2, F2 slightly longer than F3, F3=F4, subsequent flagellomeres slightly shorter and nearly equal in length, placodeal sensilla on F2–F12.

Mesosoma slightly longer than high, with a few white setae. Propleuron alutaceous. Pronotum alutaceous, with a few setae and some delicate striae laterally; anterior margin invaginated, smooth, glabrous, foveolate. Mesoscutum alutaceous, with a few setae; longer than broad (greatest width measured across mesoscutum at level of base of tegulae). Notaulus and median mesoscutal line absent; anterior parallel lines, parapsidal lines hardly visible, marked with smooth, glabrous areas; circumscutellar carina broad, reaching above tegulae. Mesoscutum emarginate posterolaterally, slightly elevated above dorsal axillar area. Transscutal articulation absent. Mesoscutellum longer than broad, ovate, posteriorly rounded; uniformly alutaceous, with some white short setae, clearly overhanging metanotum. Mesoscutellar foveae in the form of a transverse, narrow semilunar impression, with smooth, glabrous bottom. Mesopleuron and speculum alutaceous; mesopleural triangle smooth, glabrous, with a few white setae; dorsal and lateral axillar areas alutaceous; subaxillular bar smooth, glabrous, with parallel margins, shorter than height of metanotal trough; metapleural sulcus indistinct, reaching mesopleuron at half of its height. Metascutellum smooth, glabrous, as high as height of smooth, glabrous ventral impressed area; metanotal trough smooth, glabrous; propodeum posterodorsally smooth, glabrous, lateral propodeal carinae distinct, bent slightly outwards at mid height; central propodeal area smooth, glabrous, with some short striae. Nucha short, smooth, glabrous, with delicate subparallel longitudinal striae. Tarsal claws simple, without basal lobe.

Forewing longer than body, hyaline, veins light brown, margin with long dense cilia, radial cell open, 3.2× as long as broad; R1 and Rs reaching wing margin; areolet triangular, well-delimited, Rs+M indistinct along entire length, reaching basalis at half height.

Metasoma as long as head+mesosoma, as long as high in lateral view; second metasomal tergite extending to 1/4 of the metasoma length in dorsal view, smooth glabrous, with white setae anterolaterally; subsequent tergites with delicate parallel longitudinal striae, and punctures. Entire metasoma covered with distinct punctures. Hypopygium without micropunctures, prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium 2.0× as long as broad in ventral view, with setae along ventral margin. Body length 2.4–2.8 mm (n = 5).

Male ( Figs. 409–410, 412 , 419 ). Similar to female but antennae dark brown to black, metasoma brown with long petiole; eyes and ocelli large, eye broader than transfacial distance in frontal view; height of eye 1.75× as long as than transfacial distance, malar space 0.1× the length of the height of eye; lateral ocellus nearly reaching eye; POL 21.0× as long as OOL, diameter of ocellus nearly 2.0× as long as LOL; interocellar area strongly elevated in frontal view; antenna with 13 flagellomeres, longer than length of body, F1 curved and broadened in distal half, placodeal sensilla on F1–F13. Body length 2.1–2.6 mm (n = 5).

Gall. ( Figs. 420–421 ). A small monolocular bud gall, pear-shaped with a spherical body that is drawn out to an apical point, greenish to purple, 3 mm across, 5 mm tall. The gall bears tiny bracts on its surface and is covered in dense, short, pale pubescence.

Biology. Only a sexual generation is known, which induces bud galls on Q. arizonica and Q. turbinella . Galls mature in April, adults emerge soon afterwards. Within-species genetic diversity was estimated using cytb data from six individuals (males and females, collected from multiple locations; including some female paratypes); divergence among individuals ranged from 0 to 1.62% (GenBank OK346318 – OK346323 ).

Distribution. USA, Arizona, along Mogollon Rim in area south of Flagstaff.

Figures

FIGURES 406–413. Neuroterus rosieae Melika, Nicholls & Stone, sp. nov., sexual generation. 406–408, head, female: 406, frontal view, 407, dorsal view, 408, posterior view. 409–410, head, male: 409, frontal view, 410, dorsal view. 411–412, antenna: 411, female, 412, male. 413, forewing, part, female.

FIGURES 414–419. Neuroterus rosieae Melika, Nicholls & Stone, sp. nov., sexual generation.414–417, female:414, mesosoma and propleura, frontal view, 415–416, mesosoma: 415, dorsal view, 416, lateral view. 417, metascutellum and propodeum, posterodorsal view. 418–419, metasoma, lateral view: 418, female, 419, male.

FIGURES 420–421. Neuroterus rosieae Melika, Nicholls & Stone, sp. nov., sexual generation, galls.