Ceroptres lenis Lobato-Vila & Pujade-Villar, 2019

Lobato-Vila, Irene & Pujade-Villar, Juli, 2019, Revision of world Ceroptresini (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) with the description of a new genus and five new species, Zootaxa 4685 (1), pp. 1-67 : 35-37

Ceroptres lenis Lobato-Vila & Pujade-Villar sp. nov.

( Figures 10f , 13 , 18t )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:18FE537E-0176-46C3-A7F7-A57C440474C2

Type material. HOLOTYPE (♀) deposited in UB with the following labels: ‘ MEX (2840), Bosques de Santa Fe (Cuajimalpa, CDMX), 19°21’00.59” N, 99°16’25.38” W’ (white label) / ‘Ex. unknown gall, 1571m, Q. laeta , (01. xi.2013) xi–xii.2013, D. Cibrián leg.’ (white label) / ‘ Holotype ♀ Ceroptres lenis Lobato-Vila & Pujade-Villar , IL-V desig-2019’ (red label). PARATYPES (2♀) deposited in UB with the same data as the holotype .

Etymology. From the Latin term ‘ lenis ’ for smooth, as this species has both head and mesosoma not sculptured, totally smooth.

Diagnosis. This species can be easily separated from the rest of Ceroptres by having both the head and mesoscutum smooth. In the rest of species, these are never simultaneously smooth; mesosoma is usually smooth in C. junquerasi , but it has the head with a finely coriaceous sculpture (smooth in C. lenis ), vertical carinae on the lower face incomplete (complete in C. lenis ) and females with 12-segmented antennae (13-segmented in C. lenis ).

Description. Female. Length. Body length 1.9–2.1 mm (n=3).

Color ( Fig. 10f ). Mainly black. Head, mesosoma and metasoma black, tegulae dark yellow. Antennae yellow, tips somewhat darker. Legs yellow, metacoxae basally darker. Wings hyaline, veins yellow.

Head. In anterior view ( Fig. 13a ) from round to trapezoid-shaped, about 1.1 times as wide as high, genae not expanded behind compound eyes. Face with moderately long but not dense pubescence, lower face with short striae radiating from sides of clypeus and almost reaching ventral margin of compound eyes; medially without striae; vertical carinae complete, narrow and slightly curved outwards, delimiting a long depressed area that is slightly bulged just above the clypeus. Clypeus distinct, ventral margin not projected over mandibles. Malar space about 0.4 times as long as height of compound eye. Anterior tentorial pits visible; pleurostomal sulcus absent, epistomal sulcus slightly marked. Transfacial line about 0.8 times as long as height of compound eye. Toruli situated mid-height of compound eye; distance between torulus and compound eye shorter than diameter of the toruli; distance between the toruli as long as the diameter of the toruli. Front smooth, with neither punctures nor frontal carinae. Head in dorsal view ( Fig. 13b ) is about 2.2 times as wide as long. Vertex smooth and without punctures. POL:OOL:LOL = 12.5:5:6 and diameter of lateral ocelli, 4. Occiput smooth and without punctures.

Antennae ( Fig. 13e ). 13-segmented (9: 6: 12: 14: 13: 12.5: 11: 11: 9: 8: 7: 6: 13.5); subclavate, just slightly broadened apically; first flagellomeres thin and long; pubescence dense and short; placodeal sensilla visible on flagellar segments F4–F11. Pedicel 1.5 times as long as wide; F1 0.9 times as long as F2, F2 and F3 subequal. Last flagellar segment 3.0 times as long as wide and 2.3 times as long as F10.

Mesosoma. About 1.2 times as long as high in lateral view ( Fig. 13c ), including nucha, with long, but not dense, pubescence. Ratio of length of pronotum medially/laterally: 0.43. Dorsal part of pronotal plate complete, smooth, with two distinct widely spaced foveae. Lateral pronotum smooth, without lateral carina. Mesoscutum ( Fig. 13g ) 1.25 times as wide as long, smooth; anterior grooves very shallow, almost inconspicuous. Notauli incomplete, very shallow and visible at most in the posterior 1/3 of the mesoscutum, wider posteriorly. Parapsidal grooves shallow, almost inconspicuous. Median groove very short and shallow in a form of short incision. Mesoscutellum ( Fig. 13g ) rounded, slightly longer than wide, strongly wrinkled, interspaces alutaceous; circumscutellar carina absent; scutellar foveae ovate, slightly oblique, shallow, weakly sculptured, more or less well defined posteriorly and separated by a narrow carina. Mesopleuron ( Fig. 13c ) smooth and shiny; little pubescent basally. Metapleural sulcus reaching about 4/5 parts of the mesopleural height. Propodeum ( Fig. 13d ) pubescent and alutaceous; propodeal carinae straight and parallel. Nucha weakly sulcate dorsally and laterally.

Legs. Tarsal claws bidentate, with a basal lobe ( Fig. 13f ).

Wings. Forewings pubescent with moderately long marginal setae, longer than mesosoma plus metasoma ( Fig. 10f ). Radial cell closed, 2.6 times as long as wide ( Fig. 13i ); areolet not well defined, anterior and basal veins inconspicuous. Rs+M inconspicuous. Basal cell with sparsely spaced setae.

Metasoma ( Figs 10f , 13h ). Shorter than head plus mesosoma, slightly longer than high in lateral view. First metasomal tergum crescent-shaped and smooth. Second metasomal tergum short and free, 0.4 times as long as the metasomal length and with a dense hair patch anterolaterally. Third metasomal tergum without micropunctures and not dorsodistally incised. Subsequent terga, punctate. Prominent part of the hypopygial spine about as long as wide and just slightly projected.

Male. Unknown.

Distribution. Mexico. State of Ciudad de México.

Biology. Reared from an unknown gall on Quercus laeta Liebm. ( Quercus section ).

Remarks. Ceroptres lenis emerged from a mix of galls stored inside the same breeding box: a tuberous twig gall, a leaf spherical velvety reddish gall and some leaf small spherical galls ( Fig. 18t ). Hence, we are unable to determine from which of these galls the new species emerged.

Figures

FIGURE 10. New species of Ceroptres described from Mexico: a) female lateral habitus of C. junquerasi sp. nov.; b) male lateral habitus of C. junquerasi sp. nov.; c) female antenna of C. junquerasi sp. nov.; d) forewing of C. junquerasi sp. nov.; e) first segments of male antenna of C. junquerasi sp. nov.; f) female lateral habitus of C. lenis sp. nov.; g) female lateral habitus of C. mexicanus sp. nov.; h) female lateral habitus of C. nigricrus sp. nov.; i) female lateral habitus of C. quadratifacies sp. nov.; j) male lateral habitus of C. quadratifacies sp. nov.; k) forewing of C. quadratifacies sp. nov.; l) first segments of male antenna of C. quadratifacies sp. nov.

FIGURE 13. Ceroptres lenis sp. nov.: a) female head in anterior view; b) female head in dorsal view; c) mesosoma in lateral view; d) propodeum; e) female antenna; f) tarsal claws; g) mesosoma in dorsal view; h) female metasoma in lateral view; i) radial cell of the forewing.

FIGURE 18. Some of the galls mentioned in this study: a) an undescribed species of Andricus (ref. 069); b) Sphaeroteras nr pulchripennis (ref. 103); c) Dros perlentum (ref. 123); d) Neuroterus eugeros (ref. 182); e) Andricus georgei (ref. 206); f) unknown leaf gall of Neuroterus (ref. 225); g) unknown leaf spherical gall (ref. 266); h) Andricus sphaericus (ref. 303); i) Andricus sphaericus (ref. 307); j) Andricus group georgei (ref. 312); k) Melikaiella amphibolensis (ref. 338); l) an undescribed species of Andricus on leaves (ref. P015); m) Atrusca sp. (ref. P149); n) unknown (P225); o) unknown undetachable leaf gall (ref. P233); p) unknown gall inside secondary leaf nerves (ref. P307); q) Atrusca pictor (ref. P322); r) Atrusca sp. (ref. P328); s) unknown (ref. 2B10, 13B6); t) unknown, a mix of galls (ref. 2840); u) unknown leaf petiole gall (ref. P366); v) unknown twig gall (ref. P308).