Synergus chinensis, Melika & Ács & Bechtold, 2004

Synergus chinensis sp. n.

( Figs 1–9 View Figs 1–4 View Figs 5–9 )

Description – Female. Head dark brown to reddish, except interocellar area and occiput; antenna light brown to yellow, with darker distal flagellomeres; scutum and scutellum always black, pronotum laterally, mesopleuron, metascutellum and propodeum dark, red brown, tegula light brown; wing veins light yellow; legs light brown to yellow, with darker coxae; metasoma uniformly red brown. Head from above 2.6 times as wide as long, 1.3 times as broad as high and subquadrate in front view, broader than thorax; gena slightly broadened behind eye ( Figs 1–2 View Figs 1–4 ); POL 2.0 times as long as OOL, OOL equal or only very slightly longer than diameter of lateral ocellus; vertex, interocellar area and occiput dull rugouse, frons rugous with deep punctures, frontal carinae strong reaching lateral ocelli; lower face and gena with strong striae irradiating from clypeus to compound eye and antennal socket; malar space 0.6 times as long as height of eye ( Figs 1–2 View Figs 1–4 ). Antenna 14-segmented, F1 2.0 times as long as pedicel and 1.3 times as long as F2 ( Fig. 5 View Figs 5–9 ). Mesosoma 1.2–1.4 times as long as high in lateral view ( Fig. 3 View Figs 1–4 ), pronotum dull rugose, with strong lateral pronotal carina; scutum subquadrate from above, nearly as long as broad, with strong transverse rugae, complete in anterior 1/3 and interrupted posteriorly, interspaces between rugae coriaceous; notauli deep, complete; median scutellar line deep reaching to ¾ or more of scutum ( Fig. 4 View Figs 1–4 ). Mesopleuron with strong transverse striae ( Fig. 3 View Figs 1–4 ). Scutellum slightly longer than broad, dull rugose, scutellar foveae with coriaceous bottom, separated by a distinct carina ( Fig. 4 View Figs 1–4 ). Propodeum delicately coriaceous, lateral propodeal carinae straight, parallel, central area delicately coriaceous to smooth. Fore wing with pale yelllow veins, margin ciliate; radial cell closed, 3.1 times as long as broad, areolet distinct, closed, second abscissa of Rs only slightly curved or nearly straight ( Fig. 7 View Figs 5–9 ). Tarsal claws with basal lobe ( Fig. 8 View Figs 5–9 ). Metasomal terga 2+3 with posterior minute punctures, limited to small apical dorsal patch ( Fig. 9 View Figs 5–9 ). Length 2.1–3.5 mm.

Male. Similar, but with light yellow lower face; antenna 15-segmented, F1 curved, expanded apically, F1 1.6 times as long as F2 ( Fig. 6 View Figs 5–9 ).

Type material – Holotype female: “ CHINA, Beijing Province, Mentougou District, 150 km NW of Beijing, 28.VII.2002; leg. G. Melika ”, “ Xiaolongmen Station , 1095 m a.s.l.; 39°59220”; 115°31.479, from Quercus sp. ”, “ex acorn gall, Andricus sp.1 ., em. 21.VIII.2002 ”, and “ HOLOTYPE female. Synergus chinensis Melika, Ács & Bechtold , desig. G. Melika 2003”. 33 female and 16 male paratypes from the same collecting site: 27 female and 12 male paratypes with the third label “ex acorn gall, Andricus sp. 1 , em. 21.VIII.2002 ”, 1 female and 3 male paratypes with the third label “ex leaf gall, Andricus sp. 2 , em. 03.IX.2002 ”; 5 female and 1 male paratypes with the third label “ex bud gall, Andricus sp. 3 , em. 15.VIII.2002 ”.

Holotype, 2 female and 2 male paratypes in the HNHM, Budapest, Hungary; 4 female and 4 male paratypes in the Institute of Zoology of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing, China; 21 female and 6 male paratypes in the collection of the Systematic Parasitoid Laboratory, Kőszeg, Hungary.

Etymology – The species is named after the country, China, where it was collected.

Host cynipid galls – This species was reared from galls of three different unidentified, probably unknown, new species: “ Andricus sp. 1 ” – monolocular galls on acorns, on Quercus sp. (Fig. 10). In the galls, attacked by inquilines, a large number of inquiline larval chambers can be found in the gall parenchyma. “ Andricus sp. 2 ” – small rounded leaf galls, underside of leaves, collected from unknown species of oaks (Fig. 11). The shape, size and inner structure of the gall is quite like Cynips quercus ( FOURCROY, 1785), asexual galls. No doubts, that it is an Andricus species – we reared also adult gall wasps from these galls. “ Andricus sp. 3 ” – unknown bud gall, collected from Quercus sp. (Fig. 12), its shape and size like that of European well-known and common Andricus coriarius ( HARTIG, 1843) galls.

Diagnosis – Closely related to a very common, widely distributed Western Palaearctic species, Synergus gallaepomiformis ( BOYER DES FONSCOLOMBES, 1832) , especially the first spring generation, which usually emerges from the sexual galls of Biorhiza pallida ( OLIVIER, 1791) . In S. chinensis the head from above is 2.6 times as broad as long; the sculpture of the vertex and frons is dull rugose, frontal carinae are not clearly defined, sometimes branching and do not reach lat-

Figs 10–12. Andricus galls. 10 = A. sp. 1, 11 = A. sp. 2, 12 = A. sp. 3

eral ocelli ( Fig. 2 View Figs 1–4 ); OOL equal or only very slightly longer than diameter of lateral ocellus; F1 of female not more than 1.3 times as long as F2 ( Fig. 5 View Figs 5–9 ), F1 of male is strongly expanded apically ( Fig. 6 View Figs 5–9 ); the sculpture of the scutum is more dull, with strong transverse rugae ( Fig. 4 View Figs 1–4 ); the apical patch with distinct punctures on the female terga 2+3 is larger, punctures are distinct ( Fig. 9 View Figs 5–9 ). In S. gallaepomiformis the head from above is 2.3 as wide as long; the sculpture of the vertex and frons is delicate, frontal carinae are distinct, not branching; OOL nearly twice as long as the diameter of the lateral ocellus ( Figs 13–14 View Figs 13–15 ); F1 of the female not more than 1.5 times as long as F2 (Fig. 16), F1 of the male is weakly expanded apically (Fig. 17); the sculpture of the scutum much more delicate ( Fig. 15 View Figs 13–15 ); the apical patch with very minute punctures on the female terga 2+3 is small, sometimes punctures are indistinct (Fig. 18).

Distribution – China, Beijing Province, Mentougou District, 150 km NW of Beijing, Xiaolongmen Station, 1095 m a.s.l.