Atrusca bulbacea ( Kinsey, 1936 )

Atrusca bulbacea ( Kinsey, 1936)

Figs 89–102 View FIGURES 89–94 View FIGURES 95–98 View FIGURES 99–102

Cynips View in CoL ( bulboides ) bulbacea Kinsey, 1936: 152 , female, gall.

Atrusca bulbacea (Kinsey) : Weld 1952: 313

Types examined. HOLOTYPE female Cynips bulbacea ( bulboides ) “Rio Verde 14W S.L.P. 6000’ Gall 12.4.31, 4 fms. 1.8.32”, red “ Cynips bulbacea , Holo- Paratype ”. Cynips View in CoL ( bulboides ) bulbacea : 4 PARATYPE females “Rio Verde 14W, SLP 6000’, Mex., gall 12.4.31, 4 fmales 2.15.32.”, “ Q. polymorpha Kinsey View in CoL coll.”, red label “ Cynips bulbacea . Paratype ”, deposited in the general collection in AMNH, NYC, examined by GM.

Diagnosis. Atrusca bulbacea belongs to the couplet characterized by a brown to black body color, with conspicuous dark stripes in the mesoscutum, the absence of piliferous points in the mesoscutum or very indistinct at least in the posterior area between notauli, exhibiting fore wings with a complete and conspicuous venation, the Rs vein of radial cell being strongly curved distally, never almost straight, the entirely rugose mesoscutellum, the mesopleuron and speculum sculptured to some degree, with or without piliferous points, and a ventral spine of the hypopygium long and setose, 7.7–11.3× as long as wide with setae extending beyond the apex of the spine, as in A. sierrae . Atrusca bulbacea differs from A. sierrae by the uniformly alutaceous mesoscutum, mesopleuron and speculum, while in A. sierrae the mesoscutum is rugose in the anterior half, and smooth to alutaceous in posterior half, the mesopleuron is alutaceous along anterior edge and the rest is smooth, and the speculum is entirely smooth.

Re-description. Asexual female ( Figs 89–101 View FIGURES 89–94 View FIGURES 95–98 View FIGURES 99–102 ). Body, antenna, legs dark brown to reddish brown; mesosoma black with some areas reddish; mesoscutum with black stripes along anterior parallel and parapsidal lines black.

Head ovate in frontal view, coriaceous, with sparse white setae, 1.3× as broad as high and narrower than mesosoma in frontal view, 2.2× as broad as long in dorsal view. Gena strongly alutaceous, slightly broadened behind eye in frontal view, narrower than transverse diameter of eye in lateral view. Malar space coriaceous, without striae radiating from clypeus; malar sulcus absent; eye 2.5× as high as height of malar space. Inner margins of eyes slightly diverging ventrally. POL 1.6× as long as OOL; OOL equal or 1.5× as long as diameter of lateral ocellus and 1.3× as long as LOL; all ocelli ovate, of same size. Transfacial distance 1.1× as long as height of eye and 1.5× as long as height of lower face; diameter of antennal torulus 2.0× as long as distance between them, distance between torulus and eye 0.7× as long as diameter of torulus; lower face alutaceous along eyes, dull rugose centrally, under toruli, with few setae; slightly elevated median area rugose, shining, without setae. Interocellar area slightly elevated above head in frontal view, lateral ocelli prominent. Clypeus impressed, coriaceous to rugose, rectangular, 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 and interocellar area rugose, without striae, with short setae. Small rounded impressed area below central ocellus smooth, shining. Vertex and occiput reticulate, postgena alutaceous, with sparse white setae, postocciput smooth, shining; posterior tentorial pit large, ovate, area below impressed; occipital foramen slightly higher than height of postgenal bridge; hypostomal carina emarginate, continuing into postgenal sulci which run parallel ventrally, bent outwards towards occipital foramen, postgenal bridge dorsally broader than width of occipital foramen. Antenna slightly longer than head+mesosoma, with 12 flagellomeres, all with dense whitish setae, pedicel as long as broad or slightly longer than broad, F1 1.3× as long as scape+pedicel and 1.1× as long as F2; F2 1.3× as long as F3; F3 slightly longer than F4, F5 slightly longer than F6, subsequent flagellomeres progressively shorter; placodeal sensilla on F3–F12.

Mesosoma 1.2× as long as high, with sparse short white setae. Pronotum woth some rugae laterally, with sparse setae; propleuron smooth, shining. Mesoscutum uniformly alutaceous, with sparse white setae, denser in anterior half without piliferous points or very indistinct; slightly longer than broad (greatest width measured across mesoscutum at level of base of tegulae). Notaulus complete, deep, broad, with smooth, glabrous bottom, posteriorly broader and slightly converging; anterior parallel line slightly impressed, extending to half length of mesoscutum, parapsidal lines indistinct, hardly traceable, indicated by smooth darker stripe; median mesoscutal line absent; parascutal carina narrow, smooth, reaching notaulus. Mesoscutellum uniformly dull rugose, ovate, only slightly longer than broad, posteriorly rounded, with shallow invagination posterocentrally; overhanging metanotum; mesoscutellar foveae transverse, broader than high, with smooth, shining bottom, separated by broad elevated rugose central area. Circumscutellar carina complete. Mesopleuron and speculum uniformly alutaceous, shining, with scattered setae; mesopleural triangle delicately rugose, shining, with some setae; dorsal and lateral axillar areas smooth, shining, with a few white short setae; subaxillular bar smooth, shining, most posterior part slightly shorter than height of metanotal trough; metapleural sulcus reaching mesopleuron at half height, upper part of sulcus distinct. Metascutellum coriaceous, as high as height of smooth, shining ventral impressed area; metanotal trough smooth, shining, with few setae; central propodeal area smooth, shining, without rugae; lateral propodeal carinae only slightly bented outwards in posterior 1/3; lateral propodeal area smooth, shining, with long dense white setae. Nucha with irregular rugae laterally, smooth, shining dorsocentrally. Tarsal claws toothed, with basal lobe.

Fore wing only slightly longer than body, uniformly infuscated, margin with long dense cilia, with few slightly darker spots and stripes, veins dark brown, radial cell open, 2.4× as long as broad; second abscissa of Rs strongly curved distally; R1 and Rs nearly reaching wing margin; areolet triangular, Rs+M inconspicuous, traceable along entire length, reaching basalis slightly below half of its height.

Metasoma as long as head+mesosoma, higher than long in lateral view; second metasomal tergum extending 2/3 metasoma length of in dorsal view, with white setae anterolaterally, without band of micropunctures posteriorly; subsequent terga without micropunctures, without setae. Hypopygium without micropunctures, prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium 8.5× as long as broad in ventral view, with long setae ventrally extending beyond apex of spine.

Body length 2.2–4.2 mm ( Kinsey 1936).

Gall ( Fig. 102 View FIGURES 99–102 ). A bulboid gall as described for other species of the complex. Mature galls rosy or yellow brown, noticeably blue with a puberulence, occasionally unspotted but almost always well marked, in some cases conspicuously marked with slightly raised spots and ridges of purple, up to 25 mm, in average 18 mm in diameter.

Biology. The asexual generation is only known to induce leaf galls on Q. arizonica (= Q. sacame Trel. ), Q. laeta , Q. magnoliifolia (= Q. macrophyla ), Q. polymorpha .

Distribution. Mexico: San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas.