Atrusca dumosae Melika & Pujade-Villar, 2011

Atrusca dumosae Melika & Pujade-Villar, 2011

Figs 262–275 View FIGURES 262–267 View FIGURES 268–271 View FIGURES 272–275

Atrusca dumosae Melika & Pujade-Villar : Pujade-Villar et al. 2011: 24, female, gall.

Types examined. HOLOTYPE female “ Mexico, Agua Amarilla, San Pedro Mártir, Baja California Norte , (31. X.2008) XI.2008; ex Quercus dumosa View in CoL , N 32°08'28" and E 115°56'08", 1729 m a.s.l. ”, deposited in USNM. Ten GoogleMaps PARATYPE females with the same label as the HOLOTYPE ( Pujade-Villar et al. 2011).

Diagnosis. Atrusca dumosae belongs to the couplet characterized by reddish-brown body coloration with prominent dark brown to black areas in the mesonotum, the head is ovate in frontal view, equally broad or broader than the mesosoma, the fore wings mostly of normal size (1.21–1.40× as long as body length), with complete venation, the Rs vein of the radial cell strongly curved distally, the radial cell 1.8–2.1× longer than broad, and always displaying a dark spot; the mesoscutum lacking piliferous points except for occasional few piliferous points along anterior parallel lines, the absence of the median mesoscutal line, the mesoscutellum that is coriaceous, sometimes with some lateral rugae, as in A. bella . Atrusca dumosae can be distinguished from A. bella by the pronotum with the lateral part delicately coriaceous, the mesopleuron and the uniformly delicately coriaceous speculum; the mesoscutellar foveae are separated by a medial elevated area; the lateral propodeal carinae are complete, lyre-shaped, bent outwards at mid-height of propodeum; the central propodeal area is smooth, without rugae; and the Rs is strongly curved on distal part, while in A. bella the pronotum is laterally smooth to alutaceous; mesopleuron is smooth and shining, while the speculum is smooth to weakly alutaceous; the mesoscutellar foveae is displayed as a form of transverse impression, the lateral propodeal carinae is complete but weak, the carinae are sometimes inconspicuously subparallel or bent outwards at mid height of the propodeum; the central propodeal area exhibits delicate subparallel longitudinal rugae following the lateral propodeal carina in the posterior part; and the Rs vein is uniformly curved.

Re-description. Asexual female ( Figs 262–274 View FIGURES 262–267 View FIGURES 268–271 View FIGURES 272–275 ). Gena, vertex, lower face aside median elevated part, frons aside, malar space dark brown; head posteriorly, including occiput, postocciput and postgena, interocellar area, frons medially, under frontal occelus, median elevated part of lower face, clypeus very dark brown to black; maxillar and labial palps brown, mandibles dark brown with black tips; antenna uniformly dark brown. Pronotum dark brown, propleuron black; mesoscutum dark brown, with black stripes along broad parascutal lines; area between notauli black, only very posterior part brown. Dorsal half of mesopleuron black, while ventral half dark brown; mesopleural triangle black; scutellar foveae black, while rest of mesoscutellum dark brown; metapleuron, propodeum, nucha black. Legs uniformly dark brown. 2nd metasomal tergum, especially dorsally and dorsolaterally black; subsequent terga and ventral spine of hypopygium dark brown.

Head transversally ovate in frontal view, delicately coriaceous to reticulate, with white setae, denser on lower face, clypeus and posterior part of head; 2.3× as broad as long from above, 1.3× as broad as high and slightly broader than mesosoma in front view. Gena delicately coriaceous to reticulate, broadened behind eye, visible in front view behind eye, narrower than cross diameter of eye; malar space very delicately coriaceous, with short delicate striae extending from clypeus to half length of malar space, height of eye 2.5× as high as height of malar space. Inner margins of eyes parallel. POL 1.7× as broad as OOL; OOL 2.4× as long as length of lateral ocellus and slightly longer than LOL; all ocelli ovate, of same size. Transfacial distance 1.4 times as broad as height of eye; diameter of antennal torulus 1.5× as long as distance between toruli, distance between torulus and inner margin of eye 1.2× as long as diameter of torulus; lower face delicately coriaceous, without striae, with elevated coriaceous median area. Interocellar area slightly elevated above head in frontal view. Clypeus quadrangular, delicately coriaceous, with small elevated central area, laterally and ventrally widely emarginate, without median incision; anterior tentorial pits elongated, deep, epistomal sulcus and clypeo-pleurostomal line distinct, widely and deeply impressed. Frons reticulate, vertex and occiput uniformly delicately coriaceous; interocellar area coriaceous, slightly elevated. Postocciput coriaceous, with longitudinal subparallel fragmented striae; postgena smooth, impressed around occipital foramen; posterior tentorial pits large, deep, area around them strongly impressed; height of occipital foramen nearly equal to height of postgenal bridge; hypostomal carina emarginate, not going around oral foramen, continuing into postgenal sulcus. Antenna slightly longer than mesosoma, with 12 flagellomeres; scape+pedicel slightly shorter than F1, pedicel subglobose, slightly longer than broad; F1 1.2× as long as F2, F2 1.2× as long as F3; F3 1.2× as long as F4, subsequent flagellomeres shorter, F12 only slightly longer than F11; placodeal sensilla on F5–F12, absent on F1–F4.

Mesosoma s lightly longer than high. Pronotum smooth dorsally, delicately coriaceous laterally, without striae anterolaterally; propleuron alutaceous, shining, concave in mediocentral part. Mesoscutum with dense white setae, delicately coriaceous to reticulate, especially between notauli; slightly longer than broad in dorsal view (largest width measured across mesoscutum on the level of the base of tegulae). Notauli complete, deep, broad, with smooth bottom, distinctly impressed, slightly converging posteriorly; anterior parallel line invisible, hidden in reticulate surface sculpture; parapsidal line distinct, smooth, shining and broad, start away from posterior margin and extending at least to 2/3 length of mesoscutum; median mesoscutal line absent; parascutal carina distinct, anteriorly reach notauli. Mesoscutellum slightly longer than broad, uniformly coriaceous, with nearly parallel sides, overhanging metanotum; scutellar foveae quadrangular, nearly as long as broad, with smooth bottom, with distinct elevated broad coriaceous median carina. Circumscutellar carina complete but weakly marked. Mesopleuron and speculum uniformly delicately coriaceous, with very dense white setae; mesopleural triangle rugose; dorsal axillar area smooth; lateral axillar area with wrinkles; axillula coriaceous, with few white setae; subaxillular bar smooth, shining, triangularly shaped, highest posteriorly, its height nearly equal to height of metanotal trough; postalar process long, with parallel striae; metapleural sulcus reaching mesopleuron slightly above middle height. Metascutellum uniformly coriaceous, metanotal trough smooth, shining, with dense white setae; ventral impressed area smooth, shorter than height of metascutellum; central propodeal area smooth, shining, lateral propodeal carinae lyre-shaped, bented outwards in the middle; lateral propodeal area with irregular wrinkles and dense white setae; nucha with some delicate irregular wrinkles. Hind coxa with dense long white setae anteroposteriorly; all tarsal claws with distinct, short basal lobe.

Forewing longer than body, hyaline, with short dense cilia on margin, radial cell 1.8–2.0× as long as broad; second abscissa of Rs strongly curved distally; R1 and Rs nearly reaching wing margin; areolet large, triangular, closed, distinct; projection of Rs+M reaching basalis at midheight.

Metasoma longer than head+mesosoma, higher than long in lateral view, without micropunctures; second metasomal tergum dorsally occupying 2/3 of metasoma length, smooth, shiny, with large patch of dense white setae laterally; subsequent terga uniformly smooth, shining, without setae. Prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium 2.5× as long as broad in ventral view, with long white dense apical and subapical setae, extending far beyond apex of spine and forming a tuft.

Body length 3.2–3.4 mm ( Pujade-Villar et al. 2011).

Gall ( Fig. 275 View FIGURES 272–275 ). Galls are bulboid, nearly spherical, slightly tapering at the base, monolocular, located usually on the underside of leaves, attached by a single fine point to the main vein. Young galls are greenish to yellowish; mature galls brownish tan or dark reddish brown, unspotted or heavily mottled with brownish purple. The surface of the gall smooth, only microscopically roughened, shiny, thin-walled, with radiating fine filaments, supporting the central larval chamber. Galls are 18–25 mm in diameter.

Biology. The asexual generation is only known to induce leaf galls on Q. dumosa . Galls mature in late October and beginning of November; adults emerge right after galls were collected.

Distribution. Mexico: Baja California.