Atrusca aspera
Creators: name: Cuesta-Porta, Victor
name: Melika, George
name: Ferrer-Suay, Mar
name: Vera-Ortiz, Alexis
name: Pujade-Villar, Juli
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Cynipidae
Atrusca
Atrusca aspera

description: Atrusca aspera (Kinsey, 1936)
Figs 33–46
Cynips (bella) aspera Kinsey, 1936: 172, female, gall.
Atrusca aspera (Kinsey): Weld 1952: 313
Types examined. HOLOTYPE female Cynips aspera (bella) “Parral 20S Chi, Mex. Gall 10.21.31, very many fms. 2.10.32”, “ Q. undata, Kinsey coll.”, red “ Cynips aspera, Holo- Paratype, deposited in AMNH, NYC, examined by GM. Ten PARATYPE females “Parral 20S, Chi, Mex. Galls 10.29.31, 66 females 2.10.32”, deposited in the general collection in AMNH, NYC, examined by GM.
Diagnosis. Atrusca aspera belongs to the couplet characterized by reddish-brown body coloration, 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 mesoscutum with prominent dark stripes, visible piliferous points, and without median mesoscutal line, the mesoscutellum that is coriaceous, sometimes with some lateral rugae, as in A. cava. Atrusca aspera differs from A. cava by the transversely ovate head in frontal view, with sparse setae; the pronotum lacking any irregular rugae; the mesoscutum exhibiting numerous dense distinct piliferous points; the fore wings are normally sized; the radial cell has a dark spot and the Rs vein is strongly curved distally, forming a straight angle with the anterior margin of the fore wing, while A. cava displays the head transversely quadrangular in frontal view, exhibiting dense setae; the pronotum with parallel rugae posteroventrally in lateral view, the rugae extend to half-width of pronotum; the mesoscutum only displays sparse piliferous points; the fore wings are somewhat reduced; the radial cell is hyaline and the Rs vein is distally curved.
Re-description. Asexual female (Figs 39–45). Entire body, including antennae and legs reddish brown; palpi yellowish; black stripes along parapsidal lines and between notauli in anterior 2/3 of mesoscutum length; mesopleuron and mesosoma ventrally blackish.
Head transversely oval in frontal view, with sparse white setae, 1.3× as broad as high and as broad as mesosoma in frontal view, 1.9× as broad as long in dorsal view. Gena alutaceous, not broadened behind eye in frontal view, narrower than transverse diameter of eye in lateral view. Malar space delicately coriaceous, without striae, malar sulcus absent; eye 2.3× as high as height of malar space. Inner margins of eyes parallel. POL 1.5× as long as OOL; OOL 2.6× as long as diameter of lateral ocellus and 1.4× 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 asides, rugose in central part below toruli, with few setae; slightly elevated median area rugose, shining, without setae. Interocellar area not elevated above head in frontal view; lateral ocelli prominent. Clypeus impressed, uniformly coriaceous, 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 coriaceous, with few short setae. Vertex, occiput delicately coriaceous; postocciput, postgena alutaceous, shining with sparse white setae; 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 towards occipital foramen, dorsally bent outwards, postgenal bridge smooth, shining, anteriorly broader than posteriorly and slightly broader than width of occipital foramen. Antenna longer than head+mesosoma, with 12 flagellomeres, pedicel slightly longer than broad, F1 1.2× as long as scape+pedicel and 1.3× as long as F2; F2 1.2× as long as F3; F3 slightly longer than F4, F5 slightly shorter than F4, F6=F7, subsequent flagellomeres till F11shorter, nearly equal in length, F12 1.5× as long as F11; placodeal sensilla on F4–F12.
Mesosoma 1.3× as long as high, with sparse short white setae. Pronotum laterally alutaceous in dorsal half, smooth, shining on rest surface, without irregular rugae, with sparse setae; propleuron alutaceous, shining, with dense white setae. Mesoscutum uniformly alutaceous-reticulate, with sparse white setae and numerous dense distinct piliferous points; slightly longer than broad (greatest width measured across mesoscutum at level of base of tegulae). Notaulus complete, deep, broad, with alutaceous bottom, posteriorly broader and slightly converging; anterior parallel and parapsidal lines indistinct, hardly traceable, indicated by smooth stripes surface; median mesoscutal line absent; parascutal carina narrow, smooth, reaching notaulus. Mesoscutellum uniformly delicately coriaceous, ovate, slightly longer than broad, posteriorly rounded, overhanging metanotum; mesoscutellar foveae, transverse, broader than high, smooth, shining, with some irregular rugae, separated by narrow elevated rugose central area. Circumscutellar carina complete. Mesopleuron smooth along posterior edge and speculum uniformly alutaceous, with few setae; mesopleural triangle coriaceous, with some irregular rugae and dense setae; dorsal and lateral axillar areas smooth, shining, with dense white setae; subaxillular bar smooth, shining, posteriorly elongated towards mesoscutellum, most posterior part higher than height of metanotal trough; metapleural sulcus reaching mesopleuron slightly below mid height, upper part of sulcus indistinct. Metascutellum coriaceous, as high as height of smooth, shining ventral impressed area; metanotal trough smooth, shining, with sparse setae; central propodeal area smooth, shining, with some delicate irregular rugae; lateral propodeal carinae bent outwards at mid height of propodeum; lateral propodeal area smooth, shining, with piliferous points and long dense white setae. Nucha with irregular rugae laterally, smooth, shining dorsocentrally. Tarsal claws toothed, with basal lobe.
Fore wing longer than body, hyaline, margin with long dense cilia, multiple slightly darker spots all over the wing, veins light brown, radial cell open, 2.1× as long as broad with a spot; second abscissa of Rs strongly curved distally; R1 and Rs nearly reaching wing margin; areolet triangular, indistinct, Rs+M inconspicuous, traceable along entire length, reaching basalis in lower half of its height.
Metasoma slightly longer than head+mesosoma, higher than long in lateral view; second metasomal tergum dark brown, extending over half the length of metasoma in dorsal view, with dense white setae anterolaterally, without band of micropunctures posteriorly; subsequent terga without micropunctures. Hypopygium without micropunctures, prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium 2.0× as long as broad in ventral view, with few short setae extending beyond apex of spine.
Body length 1.7–3.5 mm (Kinsey 1936)
Gall (Fig. 46). Similar to all galls of the Kinsey’s bella and dugesi complexes. Mature galls rosy or light yellowish tan, conspicuously mottled with purplish brown, up to 17 mm, in average 13 mm in diameter.
Biology. The asexual generation is only known to induce leaf galls on Q. arizonica (= Q. sacame), Q. chihuahuensis, Q. undata. Galls mature in late autumn; adults start to emerge from December till January–February next year.
Distribution. Mexico: Chihuahua, Durango.
description: Published as part of Cuesta-Porta, Victor, Melika, George, Ferrer-Suay, Mar, Vera-Ortiz, Alexis & Pujade-Villar, Juli, 2025, Review of the Nearctic and Neotropical genus Atrusca Kinsey, 1930 (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae, Cynipini), pp. 1-195 in Zootaxa 5617 (1) on pages 20-24, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5617.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/15218240