Synergus macrackenae Lobato-Vila & Pujade-Villar 2021, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Lobato-Vila, Irene
name: Pujade-Villar, Juli
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Cynipidae
Synergus
Synergus macrackenae

description: Synergus macrackenae Lobato-Vila & Pujade-Villar, sp. nov.
(Figures 23–24, 42 m–n)
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 2577D204-CF98-4CE4-B6EA-1E37EE87DFD3
Type material. HOLOTYPE ♀ deposited in JP-V coll. (UB) with the following labels: ‘ MEX: P381, Highway Guadalajara to Morelia km 300 (MICH)’ (white label) / ‘Ex. Neuroterus sp., Q. obtusata, (21.vi.2018) 16-30.vi.2018, A. Equihua leg.’ (white label) / ‘Holotype ♀ Synergus macrackenae Lobato-Vila & Pujade-Villar, IL-V desig-2020’ (red label). PARATYPES (1♂ & 3♀) deposited in JP-V coll. (UB) with the following labels: ‘ MEX: 270 (rosa 115), San Juan de Coajomulco (Jocotitlán, EDO. MEX.), 19°45’11.16’’N, 99°58’6.959’’W’ (white label) / ‘Ex. Andricus fusiformis, 2630m, Q. obtusata, (12.vii.2014) 24.vii.2014, Delia leg.’ (white label) / ‘Paratype ♀ Synergus macrackenae Lobato-Vila & Pujade-Villar, IL-V desig-2020’ (red label) (1♀); ‘ MEX: 333, Highway Guadalajara to Morelia km 300 (Urequío, MICH)’ (white label) / ‘Ex. Loxaulus hyalinus, Q. obtusata, (21.vi.2018) 16-30.vi.2018, A. Equihua leg.’ (white label) / ‘Paratype Synergus macrackenae Lobato-Vila & Pujade-Villar, IL-V desig-2020’ (red label) (1♂ & 2♀).
Etymology. Named in honor of prof. Mary Isabel McCracken (1866–1955), American entomologist, researcher at the California Academy of Sciences (CAS) and teacher at Stanford University.
Diagnosis. Synergus macrackenae, sp. nov. belongs to a group of species characterized by having the mesopleuron entirely sculptured, including the speculum; hyaline wings and radial cell of fore wing at least 2.7 times as long as wide; malar space 0.6 or more times as long as height of eye; transfacial line 1.2 or more times as long as height of eye; POL as long as OOL or longer; female antenna with 13 segments and F1 longer than F2; mesoscutum with transversal carinae; notauli complete, reaching the posterior margin of pronotum; median mesoscutal line absent; tarsal claws bidentate; first metasomal segment completely sulcate dorsally and laterally; syntergum posteriorly without micropunctures or just with a small patch; and lower face and gena yellowish in both sexes. Synergus macrackenae, sp. nov. is morphologically close to S. estradae, from which differs by having lateral frontal carinae absent, frons covered with very fine striae (Fig. 24 a–b) (narrow and weak, but visible, in S. estradae); POL 1.2 or 1.3 times as long as OOL, OOL 2.0 times as long as diameter of lateral ocelli in both sexes (Fig. 24b) (POL 2.0 times as long as OOL in females, 3.0 in males, and OOL 1.5 times as long as diameter of lateral ocelli in females, equal in males, in S. estradae); pedicel 2.3 times as long as wide (Fig. 24a, c) (slightly longer than wide in S. estradae); margins of pronotum swollen aside, somewhat sharp seen from above (Fig. 24i) (rounded in S. estradae); in females, syntergum dorsodistally incised (Fig. 24j) (not incised in S. estradae); in males, F1 about 1.5 times as long as F2 (Fig. 23d) (2.0 times in S. estradae), among others (see the identification key).
Description
FEMALE. Length. Body length 3.0– 3.2 mm (n = 4).
Color (Fig. 23a). Body black, yellow and orange. Face and gena, yellow, sometimes with a black spot below toruli; frons and vertex medially, and occiput, black. Antennomeres, except their distal end (which is yellow), dark brown; some specimens have antennomeres of the distal half of antenna completely yellow. Mesosoma almost completely black except posterolateral pronotum and the mesopleural triangle, which are orange; tegulae yellow. Metasoma dark rufous to black; sometimes with a dark orange spot anterolaterally and some orange anteroventrally; hypopygium infuscate. Legs with all coxae black, black more extended in metacoxae; femorae, and especially metafemorae, dark; the rest, yellow. Wings hyaline, veins light brown.
Head. In frontal view (Fig. 24a) rounded, about 1.2 times as wide as high, gena broadened behind eye. Face faintly pubescent, lower face with dense and regular striae radiating from clypeus, reaching eyes and toruli; medial striae short or absent. Clypeus indistinct, ventral margin almost straight, not projected over mandibles. Malar space about 0.7 times as long as height of eye. Anterior tentorial pits visible; pleurostomal and epistomal sulcus absent. Transfacial line almost 1.2 times as long as height of eye. Toruli situated under mid-height of eyes; distance between torulus and eye about as long as diameter of toruli; distance between toruli shorter than diameter of toruli. Frons coriaceous, with small piliferous punctures; frontal carinae inconspicuous; instead, some fine striae run from the posterior margin of toruli towards lateral ocelli. Head in dorsal view (Fig. 24b) curved, about 2.0 times as wide as long. Vertex coriaceous, with some punctures. POL: OOL: LOL = 7: 6: 4, and diameter of lateral ocelli, 3. Occiput coriaceous, with some punctures.
Antenna (Fig. 24c). 13-segmented (6: 4.5: 8: 5.5: 5.5: 5.5: 6: 6: 5: 4: 4: 3.5: 6.5); filiform and thin, not broadened apically; pubescence dense and short; placodeal sensilla visible on flagellar segments F4–F11. Pedicel about 2.3 times as long as wide; F1 1.5 times as long as F2, F2 as long as F3. Last flagellar segment about 2.6 times as long as wide and almost 2.0 times as long as F10.
Mesosoma. About 1.2 times as long as high in lateral view including nucha, with short and not dense pubescence (Fig. 24g). Ratio of length of pronotum medially/laterally: 0.3. Pronotal plate indistinct. Lateral pronotum weakly carinated; lateral carina absent, but pronotum bulged, subquadrate seen from above. Mesoscutum (Fig. 24i) about 1.1 times as wide as long, strongly and densely discontinuously carinated, interspaces alutaceous to coriaceous; anterior parallel lines weakly impressed, reaching about 1/4 of the mesoscutal length; notauli complete and deep, interrupted by carinae, slightly convergent posteriorly; median mesoscutal line absent; parapsidal lines inconspicuous or absent. Mesoscutellum (Fig. 24i) rounded, about as long as wide, weakly wrinkled to carinated, interspaces alutaceous to coriaceous; circumscutellar carina visible, but weak; scutellar foveae subtriangular, well impressed anteriorly but not posteriorly, sculptured bottom and separated by a narrow carina. Mesopleuron (Fig. 24g) finely and densely striated, interspaces smooth; slightly pubescent basally. Metapleural sulcus reaches about 3/4 parts of mesopleural height. Propodeum (Fig. 24d) alutaceous and densely pubescent; propodeal carinae straight and slightly convergent and branched posteriorly. Nucha weakly sulcate dorsally and laterally.
Legs. Tarsal claws with a strong basal lobe (Fig. 24e).
Wings. Fore wing pubescent with short marginal setae, about as long as body length (Fig. 23a). Radial cell closed, but the marginal vein very narrow and weakly pigmented, about 2.8 times as long as wide (Fig. 24f); areolet visible, the basal vein weakly pigmented. Rs+M inconspicuous, not reaching the basal vein. Basal cell with sparsely spaced setae.
Metasoma. About as long as head plus mesosoma and about 1.4 times as long as high in lateral view (Fig. 23a, 24h). First metasomal segment sulcate dorsally and laterally. Syntergum smooth, with an anterolateral pubescence composed of a few setae and posterodorsally with very few minute micropunctures forming an inconspicuous patch (Fig. 24j); dorsodistally incised (Fig. 24j), not pointed; following segments and hypopygium, punctate. Hypopygial spine about 3.0 times as long as wide and with a few lateral setae; without apical setae (Fig. 24h).
MALE (Fig. 23b). Similar to female, except for the following: body length 2.7 mm (n = 1). Antenna 15-segmented (7: 4: 8: 5: 5: 5: 5: 5: 4.5: 4.5: 4: 4: 3.5: 3.5: 4) (Fig. 23d); F1 about 1.6 times as long as F2; F1 short, curved, strongly incised medially, broadened apically and basally (Fig. 23c). POL: OOL: LOL = 6: 5: 3, and diameter of lateral ocelli, 2.5. Malar space 0.6 times as long as height of eye. Transfacial line 1.1 times as long as height of eye. Metasoma shorter than head plus mesosoma, with a more conspicuous punctuation.
Distribution. Mexico: México and Michoacán.
Biology. Reared from galls of Loxaulus hyalinus Pujade-Villar & Melika, 2014 (Fig. 42n), Andricus fusiformis Pujade-Villar, 2014 and from an undetermined species of Neuroterus (Fig. 42m) on leaves of Q. obtusata.
description: Published as part of Lobato-Vila, Irene & Pujade-Villar, Juli, 2021, The genus Synergus Hartig (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Synergini) in the New World: a complete taxonomic revision with a key to species, pp. 1-121 in Zootaxa 4906 (1) on pages 62-65, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4906.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4434000