Druon flocculentum Cuesta-Porta & Melika & Nicholls & Stone & Pujade-Villar 2022, comb. nov.
Creators: name: Cuesta-Porta, Victor
name: Melika, George
name: Nicholls, James A.
name: Stone, Graham N.
name: Pujade-Villar, Juli
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Cynipidae
Druon
Druon flocculentum

description: Druon flocculentum (Lyon, 1996), comb. nov.
Figs. 13–19
Andricus flocculentus Lyon, 1996: 181, female, gall.
Type material. Holotype female “ TEXAS. El Paso Co., Franklin Mountains, El Paso, 15 Feb 1969, R. J. Lyon, from galls on Quercus pungens Liebmann ” and 3 paratypes are deposited in the USNM. http://n 2t.net/ark:/65665/ 35120c421-cef0-4ae2-b041-bba1c1121ca7. Pictures of the holotype taken by M. Buffington (USNM) were examined and used for the redescription below.
Additional material. One female “ Mexico, CDMX, Parque Nacional del Bosque del Pedregal; Code 073; ex Q. obtusata, coll. 2011.iii.13, leg. M. Serrano ”.
Diagnosis. This species belongs to the group of dark Druon species (also comprising D. gregori, D. serretae and D. alexandri). Differs from D. gregori in having small ocelli, OOL 1.3× as long as the diameter of lateral ocellus (OOL as long as the diameter of lateral ocellus in D. gregori (Fig. 47)). Differs from D. serretae in the shape of the head and having the notaulus incomplete (Fig. 18) (complete in D. serretae (Fig. 229)). It resembles D. alexandri, but D. flocculentum presents with a transfacial distance shorter than height of eye (Fig. 15) (subequal in D. alexandri (Fig. 1)); the toruli are positioned at mid height of eyes (below mid height of eyes in D. alexandri); the notaulus furrow is smooth (Fig. 18) (sculptured in D. alexandri (Fig. 7)); and the propodeal carinae are complete (Fig. 19) (incomplete in D. alexandri (Fig. 9)).
Redescription. Asexual female (Figs. 13–19). Body uniformly dark brown; antenna and legs paler.
Head reticulate with sparse white setae, denser on lower face, 1.2× as broad as high and as broad as mesosoma in frontal view; around 2.4× as broad as long in dorsal view. Gena reticulated, not broadened behind eye in frontal view, narrower than transverse diameter of eye in lateral view. Malar space reticulate, with striae radiating from clypeus, some reaching the eye; malar sulcus absent; eye 3.3× as high as length of malar space. Inner margins of eyes parallel. POL 2.8× as long as OOL, OOL 1.3× as long as diameter of lateral ocellus and equal to LOL, all ocelli ovate, of same size. Transfacial distance shorter than height of eye; toruli located at the mid height of head and frons nearly as high as height of lower face, diameter of antennal torulus nearly 3.0× as long as distance between them, distance between torulus and eye 1.2× as long as diameter of torulus; lower face alutaceous to reticulate, with white setae; slightly elevated median area alutaceous, with a few setae. Clypeus ovate, slightly broader than high, alutaceous, with a few long setae scattered all over; ventrally rounded, not emarginate, without median incision; anterior tentorial pit small, rounded, indistinct, epistomal sulcus distinct, clypeo-pleurostomal line well impressed. Frons, interocellar area, vertex, occiput reticulate, without striae and setae; area under central ocellus impressed, smooth; postocciput, postgena alutaceous, with few setae. Antenna longer than head+mesosoma, with 11 flagellomeres; pedicel 2.0× as long as broad; F1 1.6× as long as pedicel and 1.2× as long as F2; F2 1.2× as long as F3; F3=F4, F5 slightly longer than F6, F7=F8, F9=F10, F11 2.0× as long as F10; placodeal sensilla white, distinct on F5–F11.
Mesosoma as long as high, with a few white setae along propleuron. Pronotum laterally reticulate, with delicate parallel striae. Mesoscutum slightly longer than broad (greatest width measured across mesoscutum level with base of tegulae), uniformly reticulate. Notaulus incomplete, deep, distinctly impressed along 2/3 of mesoscutum length, absent or invisible in anterior 1/3 of mesoscutum; posteriorly converging, notaulus furrow smooth, glabrous; at posterior end the distance between notauli less than distance between notaulus and side of mesoscutum; anterior parallel line distinct, impressed, extending to 1/3 length of mesoscutum; parapsidal line indistinctly impressed, extending to 2/3 length of mesoscutum; median mesoscutal line absent; parascutal carina broad, reaching notaulus. Mesoscutellum more or less rounded, only slightly longer than broad; disc of mesoscutellum entirely rugose, strong rugae in the form of concentric lines, overhanging metanotum; circumscutellar carina present. Mesoscutellar foveae transverse, smooth, glabrous, well-delimited anteriorly and posteriorly from disc of mesoscutellum; divided by narrow median elevated coriaceous area. Entire mesopleuron uniformly covered in transverse delicate striae, without setae, setae present only along ventral edge; the most anterodorsal part of speculum smooth, glabrous; mesopleural triangle with delicate parallel, longitudinal striae, shining, glabrous, with sparse short white setae; dorsal and lateral axillar areas smooth, glabrous; axillula with delicate parallel longitudinal striae; subaxillular bar smooth, glabrous, triangular, posteriorly as high as height of metanotal trough; metapleural sulcus reaching mesopleuron at half of its height, lower part of sulcus delimiting broad triangular coriaceous area; upper part of sulcus also distinct, separating smooth, glabrous area. Metascutellum smooth, glabrous, as high as height of smooth, glabrous ventral impressed area; metanotal trough smooth, glabrous; central propodeal area smooth, glabrous, with a few delicate longitudinal rugae; lateral propodeal carinae distinct, broad and high, bent outwards at mid height; lateral propodeal area smooth, glabrous, with sparse white setae, with rounded bump at the base of each seta. Tarsal claws with basal lobe.
Fore wing longer than body, hyaline, with dense cilia on margin, veins dark brown, radial cell open, 4.0× as long as broad; Rs and R1 nearly reaching wing margin; areolet triangular, closed by distinct veins. Rs+M indistinct, visible for 2/3 of distance between areolet and basalis, its projection reaching basalis at half of its height.
Metasoma longer than head+mesosoma, rounded, higher than long in lateral view; second metasomal tergum smooth, extending to half-length of metasoma in dorsal view, with sparse white setae anterolaterally, without micropunctures; all subsequent terga and hypopygium smooth, without micropunctures; prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium 4.0× as long as broad in ventral view, with a few short white setae ventrally. Body length 1.5–1.75 mm (Lyon 1996).
Gall. Clustered but discrete cells forming a woolly mass on the underside of the leaf midrib (Lyon 1996). Clusters ranging from 3 to 6mm in diameter, the pubescence is white to pale yellow. The individual cells are 2.5–3.0 mm long, ovoid and thin walled.
Biology. Only the asexual generation is known, which induces woolly leaf galls on Q. pungens and Q. obtusata (both Section Quercus, Series Leucomexicanae). Galls were collected in February-March. Adults probably emerge shortly afterwards.
Distribution. USA: TX (Lyon 1996); Mexico: Mexico City in this study.
description: Published as part of Cuesta-Porta, Victor, Melika, George, Nicholls, James A., Stone, Graham N. & Pujade-Villar, Juli, 2022, Re-establishment of the Nearctic oak cynipid gall wasp genus Druon Kinsey, 1937 (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini), with description of five new species, pp. 1-92 in Zootaxa 5132 (1) on pages 14-16, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5132.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6520471