Phanacidini Nieves-Aldrey, Nylander, & Ronquist, 2015

Tribe Phanacidini Nieves-Aldrey, Nylander, & Ronquist, 2015

Remarks. Four genera are presently placed in Phanacidini : Asiocynips Kovalev, 1982 ; Diakontschukia Melika, 2006 ; Phanacis Förster, 1869 ; and Zerovia Diakontschuk, 1988 . Phanacidini is highly similar morphologically to two other herb gall wasp tribes, Aulacideini Nieves-Aldrey, Nylander, & Ronquist, 2015 and Aylacini Ashmead, 1903 . Updated keys to the tribes of Cynipidae , as well as updated diagnoses to the herb gall wasp tribes and species checklists, were recently given by Nastasi et al. (in press). Phanacidini is most readily characterized among cynipid tribes by the dorsomedially long pronotum ( Figs. 13–14 View FIGURES 13–16 , 22–23 View FIGURES 22–23 ; shorter in Aylacini and several other tribes such as Cynipini but about the same in Aulacideini ), the lack of a syntergite ( Figs. 1–4 View FIGURES 1–4 ; metasoma with syntergite in Synergini and others), and the effaced pronotal submedial impression, which is apparent as a single linear indentation ( Figs. 13–14 View FIGURES 13–16 , 22–23 View FIGURES 22–23 ; apparent as a pair of separated ovate impressions as in Aylacini and Aulacideini ).As we demonstrated above, the length of F1 relative to F2 is also diagnostic; in Phanacidini , F1 is always conspicuously longer than F2 ( Figs. 5–8 View FIGURES 5–12 ). Buffington et al. (2020) and Ronquist et al. (2015) report the partially closed medial cell on the fore wing ( Fig. 15 View FIGURES 13–16 ) as a character supporting the Phanacidini ; this is almost always the case in the genus Phanacis , but the marginal cell is entirely open ( Fig. 26 View FIGURES 26–27 ) or entirely closed in a variety of Phanacidini species, especially the handful of rare Eastern Palearctic species placed in the other three phanacidine genera.

Beyond these, an additional character has been mentioned in the literature. Ronquist et al. (2015) suggested that a narrow mesopectus was also characteristic of Phanacidini , but this character has not been mentioned in any recent studies on the tribe. We found this to be true of all specimens of Phanacidini we examined in the present study as well as illustrations of Asiocynips , Diakontschukia , Phanacis , and Zerovia given in the literature ( Kovalev 1982, Diakontschuk 1988, 2001, Melika 2006). We have seen that the mesopectus in Phanacidini is usually about 2.0× as tall as wide, but only about 1.4–1.7× as tall as wide in the Aulacideini and Aylacini (Nastasi, pers. obs.), suggesting that this could indeed be a useful character for separating the herb gall wasp tribes. However, various phanacidines such as Phanacis neserorum Melika & Prinsloo, 2007 seem to violate this; we examined images of the holotype and a non-type specimen of P. neserorum available on WaspWeb ( van Noort 2025; available at https://web.archive. org/web/20200815142435/https://www.waspweb.org/ Cynipoidea / Cynipidae / Cynipinae / Phanacidini / Phanacis / Phanacis_neserorum .htm&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1741126825100540&usg=AOvVaw16E1tCmCegKHwjQNJ zuKYn) and found that the mesopectus is about 1.7× as long as wide. Illustrations of other Phanacidini given by Melika (2006) show a similar ratio, but examining specimens would be preferable before assessing the mesopectus dimensions further. As a result, this character may not be useful as a diagnostic character for the herb gall wasp tribes but could instead be useful for delimiting Phanacini genera if broadly assessed in further studies.

Another character worthy of further investigation is the size and sculpture of the first metasomal tergite. In the specimens of Phanacidini we studied here, the first metasomal tergite was frequently large and at least partly sculptured ( Figs. 16 View FIGURES 13–16 , 27 View FIGURES 26–27 ). In the specimens of Aulacideini we examined, the first metasomal tergite is always smaller and smooth, entirely without conspicuous sculpture. The size, shape, and sculpture of the first metasomal tergite has been applied as a diagnostic character separating other cynipoid tribes and genera, especially among inquiline gall wasps ( Lobato-Vila & Pujade-Villar 2019, Buffington et al. 2020, Nastasi et al. 2024a). However, the first tergite has infrequently been characterized in illustrations and descriptions in the literature. As a result, specimenbased consideration of the first tergite across herb gall wasps is needed to further demonstrate the utility of this character.