Atrusca congesta ( Kinsey, 1930 )

Atrusca congesta ( Kinsey, 1930)

Figs 200–206 View FIGURES 200–204 View FIGURES 205–206

Cynips bella variety congesta Kinsey 1930: 292 , female, gall.

Atrusca congesta (Kinsey) : Weld 1951: 638.

Types examined. HOLOTYPE female Cynips bella var. congesta “Alpine, Tex. 12.14.19, gall 12.14.19”, “ Q. grisea, Kinsey View in CoL coll.”, red “ Cynips congesta , Holo- Paratype ”, deposited in AMNH, NYC, examined by GM. Three PARATYPE females, deposited in the general collection of AMNH, NYC, were designated by Kinsey (1930) and examined by GM .

Material examined. One female “Marfa 22S, Tex., gall 10.13.39”, “ Q. grisea Kinsey coll.”, “ Cynips congesta det. Kinsey ‘36” examined by GM and was compared to the holotype .

Diagnosis. Atrusca congesta belongs to the species group characterized by reddish-brown body coloration with prominent dark brown to black areas in the mesonotum, 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 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 and A. dumosae . Atrusca congesta differs from A. bella and A. dumosae by a strongly transverse head in frontal view, but narrower than mesosoma in frontal view; and the radial cell very short, around 1.3× as long as broad, while in A. bella and A. dumosae the head is ovate in frontal view, equally broad or broader than the mesosoma, and the radial cell 1.8–2.1× longer than broad.

Re-description. Asexual female ( Figs 200–205 View FIGURES 200–204 View FIGURES 205–206 ). The species description is combined from Kinsey (1930: 292; 1936: 175) and our observations of the type photos.

Body reddish brown. Head, antenna, palpi, mesoscutum with black stripes along anterior parallel and parapsidal lines; mesosoma laterally partially black; mesoscutellar foveae partially black; propodeum reddish brown to dark brown, the central propodeal area and lateral propodeal area reddish brown; metasoma reddish brown, dorsally dark brown.

Head strongly transverse in frontal view, alutaceous, with sparse white setae, 1.3× as broad as high and narrower than mesosoma in frontal view, 2.4× as broad as long in dorsal view. Gena alutaceous, not or slightly broadened behind eye in frontal view, narrower than transverse diameter of eye in lateral view. Malar space alutaceous-reticulate, with delicate striae radiating from clypeus; malar sulcus absent; eye 2.9× as high as height of malar space. Inner margins of eyes parallel. POL 1.4× as long as OOL; OOL 2.9× as long as diameter of lateral ocellus and 1.5× as long as LOL; all ocelli ovate, of same size. Transfacial distance 1.3× as long as height of eye and 1.6× as long as height of lower face; diameter of antennal torulus equal to distance between them, distance between torulus and eye slightly longer than diameter of torulus; lower face alutaceous along inner sides of eye, coriaceous in central part below toruli, with white setae, without striae; slightly elevated median area coriaceous, with setae. Interocellar area strongly elevated above head in frontal view, lateral ocelli prominent. Clypeus impressed, smooth, shining, trapezoid, slightly broader than high, with few long setae; ventrally rounded, emarginate, without median incision; anterior tentorial pit large, rounded, epistomal sulcus and clypeo-pleurostomal line broad, well impressed. Frons coriaceous to delicately rugose, interocellar area alutaceous to delicately coriaceous, without striae, with few short setae. Vertex, occiput delicately coriaceous. Antenna with 12 flagellomeres.

Mesosoma 1.1× as long as high, with sparse short white setae. Pronotum laterally smooth, upper area alutaceous, shining, with distinct piliferous points. Mesoscutum uniformly reticulate, shining only along parapsidal line; slightly longer than broad (greatest width measured across mesoscutum at level of base of tegulae). Notaulus complete, deep, broad, with smooth, shining bottom, posteriorly broader and slightly converging; anterior parallel line distinctly impressed in anterior 1/3, with darker stripe; parapsidal line distinct, indicated by smooth darker stripe; median mesoscutal line absent, if present than in a form of a very short triangle; parascutal carina narrow, smooth, reaching notaulus. Mesoscutellum uniformly coriaceous, slightly longer than broad, posteriorly rounded; mesoscutellar foveae in a form of anterior semilunar impression, broader than high, bottom smooth, shining, with rugae, without median carina. Circumscutellar carina complete but obscured by pilosity. Mesopleuron smooth to alutaceous, centrally without transverse interrupted striae, with sparse setae; mesopleural with dense setae; metapleural sulcus reaching mesopleuron above mid height, upper part of sulcus distinct. Tarsal claws toothed, with basal lobe.

Fore wing longer than body, margin with long dense cilia, with few slightly darker spots and stripes, veins dark brown, radial cell open, 1.3× as long as broad with a spot; second abscissa of Rs strongly curved; R1 and Rs nearly reaching wing margin; areolet triangular, indistinct, Rs+M inconspicuous, traceable along entire length, reaching basalis slightly below its half height.

Metasoma slightly longer than head+mesosoma, higher than long in lateral view, saddle-shaped; second metasomal tergum extending to 4/5 metasoma length of in dorsal view, with white setae anterolaterally and laterally, without band of micropunctures posteriorly; subsequent terga without micropunctures, without setae. Hypopygium without micropunctures, prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium 2.5× as long as broad in ventral view, with setae extending beyond apex of spine.

Body length 3.0– 3.2 mm ( Kinsey 1930).

Gall ( Fig. 206 View FIGURES 205–206 ). Similar to galls of bella and dugesi complexes; impossible to distinguish from other galls of the two complexes. Globular gall with unspotted surface.

Biology. The asexual generation is only known to induce leaf galls on Q. grisea . Galls mature in late autumn; adults start to emerge from December.

Distribution. USA: Texas.