Description of several new species of Cynips and new species of Diastrophus, Bassett 1864

Wings hyaline, also the veins, except the first and second transverse and the subcostal, which are a very pale yellow; areolet large, equiangular, bounded on the inner side by entirely c

1864.] 679

Descriptions of several now species of OYlUPS, and a new speoies of

DIASTROPHUS

BY H F BASSETT

QUERCUS RUBRA .A cluster offort!f or fifty elonga.te-ovate gall8 on

a branch of a !f0u/ng red oak tree Tht.y are from three-foo.rths of an inch f.o an inch in length, and a half an inch, in diameter in the middle, tapering to a po"nt af tile ends; covered with a Jwrt, velvety

pubes-cence, and when dr!f, ridged like a melon; tke imide, a cork-like

sub-stance adhering closely to the larval cell, and divided lengthtoile inf.o

I ma1t!! parts like the dissepimetlf8 of the seed-ve3Sels of various kinds of plants; f'Mnothalaf'Mus-the cell one-tenth of an inch long.

c.q.form~sa n.sp

9.Head black Head and {ace finely and evenly rugose Ankn1U2 1~­

j&inted,yellowish-red, the terminal joints darker The suture between the 14th and 15th as distinct as the preceding ones; (ace with a short pubescence, the hairs converging towards the mouth; mandibles black, palpi yeJIowish-red

TMrazblack; a few short hairs on the collare;muotAoraz:parapsidal grooves distinctly marked, median line broa.d where it begins on the scutellum, but gradually decreases and disappears just before reaching the collare; between this and the para.psidal grooves two shc.rt lines beginning on the collar and ex-tending half way to the scutellum The thorax and pleune are beautifully

ripple.marked with fine short traMVerse linea. This style of marking is distinct from that of any of the species in my collection-thirt.y or more The same style, only coarser, is soon in sOIQe Chalcidians SdJ.tellumsma.ll, finely rugose, the smallfov~are smooth and shining Legs bright brownish-red, except the upper part of the femur, which is nearly black, and the black cOxre Abdomen

bright reddish-brow,p with an extremely ,minute microscopic punetation; sheath of the ovipositor a~ark brownish-red Wings hyaline, also the veins, except the first and second transverse and the subcostal, which are a very pale yellow; areolet large, equiangular, bounded on the inner side by entirely color-less veins, radial area open Length~12 "bunknown

The llies have not yet left the gall (Nov 25) though they have been in' the imago state for several weeks, a.nd crawled about actively when the galls were opened They may be imprisoned by tlie hard dry gal), but I aminclined to think, that, like some other species, they remain

in the galls in the perfect state through the winter and come out early

in the spring.

'"

' V o W - ' - , • • "-"-'~'1'~ • -• " l ' _n_.,:-~

[DECEMBER 0 '

, The galls of this speoies are very rare I have found only two

clus-ters, and one of these was much eaten by some tepidopterous larva,

and the larvm of the true gall Hy were destroyed Only a part of the

galls in the other cluster were developed as described above; the

small-est were not larger than grains of barley, but contained larvre, and have

produced true gall Hies Their diminutive size was owing, apparently,

totheir being closely crowded.

This and the species next described, a g veluricosa n sp., are

rea-dily distinguished from any other American species yet described, by

the female, (male as yet unknown,) having fifteen tii~tinct antm"al

joints. Dr Fitch (N Y Rep Vol 2 No 309) speaks of having, in

his collection, a female gall By with fifteen jointed antennte, but he

does not describe it, nor the gall from whioh it came.

Westwood (Syn Gen Br Insects) does nQt characterize any genus

of the family Cynipidre as having more than the ~ 14, and the ~ 15

antennal joints-but the ~ of my O q singularis* (Proc Ent Soc.

Phila Vol 2nd p 326) has 16-jointed antennre, and a q Rcitula-a

new species described in this paper-also bas tbe same number The

females of botb these species have only 13 joints, the terminal one long

and connately divided in the middle.

a q.formosa and the species next described are evidently closely

related, for besides the 15-jointed antennte of the ~ there are other

points of resemblance; and the remarkable di1ference in the colors of' the two species, the ripple-marked thorax of O g.formosa, and the

widely different galls from different species of oak, are the most marked

specific characters The shape of the abdomen of both species is

pe-culiar;differe~tin form, and, I think, in structure, from any other

spe-cies I am acquainted with, but I have not yet sufficiently studied the

structure to describe it well, and have simply, in my description,

no-ticed the vertical diameter as equalling or exceeding the length .

• Mr Walsh assures me that my C q singularis is the same as C q nubili- penni!J Rarris He is undoubtedly correct, and my name stands, of course; as

a.Synonym Dr Harris' very brief descriptions were definite enough, perhaps

when the number~fspeciesVIas,as when he wrote, very small, but hardly

com-plete enO\lgh for the genus to-day The num~erof species described and

properly belongmg to, or provisionally placed in, the genus Oynips, exceeds fifty,

and many more will probablybefound

•

: ~~ ".

681 QUERCUS ILICIFOLIA Galls grOOJing in cl1£8ters.from three or foor

to a dozen to.'letker, on the limbs and occQRitmall!l on the trunks ofyoung shrub QaJa TM!! fire cone-shaped, truncate at tke base, tke apex often prolonged in a sl.ender, recurve~ point. They are from four to

jive-eighths oj an inch [mag, and from one.jourth to three-eightks in diame-ter at the base When green, oftm of a deep red color; 'When dry, brown nr blackj lJer!! hard, enclosing a near{y free larval cell like that

nJ C q globulus, Pikh.

c.q.veutricosa n.sp

s.> •Head and thorax a bright cinnaJllon color, head finely punctate, face pu-bescent, dark brown around the moutb, tips of the mandibles black, palpi pale brown .Antenna:long, 15-jointed, third joint longeat, others gradually decreas-ing in length to the 15th, which is as long as the two preceddecreas-ing ones, and shows plainly a connate suture Thore= tinely arid evenly punctate; parapsidal grooves not deep; the line dividing the mesothorax lengthwise reaches from the collare to the scutellum; each side of this is a line reaching half way from the collare to the scutellum, floDd marked with an indentation at the posterior end; also a deep linear depression on each side over the base of the wings; pleura microscopically /punctate; mesothorax bounded on the sidea and where it joins the scutellum by a dark reddish-brown line Scutellumvery nnely SCUlptured,'

a dark and narrow ridge dividing it half the length Feet yellow, tips of the tarsi black Wing8hyaline; the subcostal, anal, first and second transverse veins large, dark reddish-brown; the ~rsttwo ra.ther paler towards the base; areolet distinct; radial area open, the vein formi~gits base considerably en-larged Abdomendarker brown than the thorax; segments short, second long-eat; vertical diameter,i.e the distance from the back of the abdomen to the ventral edge, equals or slightly exceeds the length; terminal segments show a fine punctation Length 14 Male unknown

My galls were collected in June The Hies were found to be fully developed in October They were cut oat, else they would probably

h~veremained in the~Jsuntil8pri~g

QUERCUS ILICIFOLIA Elongated, fusiform ga1l8 grCluiing on the upper side of the leaves of Q ilicifolia, and standing erect, or nearltl so-sometimc8 entire{y preventing the development of the leaf, and a.p-parently growing out of the petiole. '1' he centralllucleus C(jf&taining the larlJt£ is kept in place b!! radiating 'Wood!! fibru as in O g inanis o 8.

The largest ga.lls are two t"nches in length and seven-eight1l.8 oj an inch

in diameter; average size about one and three.jotirtkst~nchulong, and three.jourths in diameter .Apex rather wnger and more slender than· the bcual portion, and often comi4.erably curved.

•

682 [DECEMBER

:"•

":.~':

,'1"

These galls are of the same dark greon as the leaves Many are found very much smaller than those desoribed above, but they produce parasitic Hies Baron Osten Sacken writes me that he met with num-bers of these galls in Penns,lvania several years ago They are rather rare here (Conn.)

Q.q UicifoUlB n sp

2Black, vertex of the head, a.nd the entire thorax black, and deeply and irregularly sculptured; face rugose a.nd pubescent; hairs converging toward the mouth; p&lpi shining reddish brown AnUmue l3-jointed, the 18th long.

and with a f&lse suture apparent on the inner side; first and second joints very short, shining black; the remaining ones pubescent, and dull black 'l'Aoraz with a coarse pubescence The parapsid&1groove obliterated by the coarse, somewhat linearly arranged sculpturing FOvelBlarge but sculptured like the rest of the scutellum JiUt: COXlB,and the upper part of the femur of the two anterior pairs black-other partsreddish-bro~n;posterior pair black, reddish

at the joints Abdomtn black shining, the ventral edge clear brownish red.

The segments, except the first a.nd second, with a very fine microscopic puno tation, most apparent on the third segment Wing8slightly dusky; veins brown ish black, heavy; aieolet very small, vein at the base of the open radial area covered by a large brownish black cloud, which covers part of ·the areolet but does not reach the anterior margin of the wing A very Ught brown cloud in the basal cell of some specimens Length.1'1

'b.-AntennlB 16-jointed, feet darker than those of the female; posterior pair, including the tarsi, almost entirely black Otherwise like the female except the usual sexual differences Length 14

Ten <.? and four 'b specimens.

QUERCUS ALBA Flat, green., succulent galls, often 0/ a veru irregu lar outline, and from one-fourth to more than an inch -in dt'ameter, the

·uertical diameter from one-fourth to tlu'ee-eighths ofan inch, growingOft

the!eCl.vesof the white oak, and producing, according to the size, from two or three, tomore than (t doze-ngall-flies

The ilies ·escape from the gallsi~ June, through the upper or under surface The water that enters the cavities the Hies have left causes the galls8000 to decay aDd drop off, but a few change to a dry pith-like substance, and remain on the tree through the summer These might be taken for a different species, as they generally contain larvm, but having reared a few Spalllngia (7) from such galls, I infer they are

aU parasitic.

This species is closely relatedtoO q irregularis O S but grows on

a different speoies of oak, and Baron Osten Sacken to whom I sent

1864.] 683

'·1',"'·

! ;

.

~~

f

specimens, tbinks it may be specifically distinct from tbat species, which I have 'not yet seen The imperfect condition of his only spe-cimen of O q irregvlar1's renders a satisfactQry comparison impossible~

2Headtransverse, black, nearly smooth, but under a powerful maguifiet: presents a fine netted appearance; face smooth with a very few short white hairs; mouth brown, tips of the mandibles black, .An~long, with 13 jointe, first and second short, third very long and enlarged at the upper end These, except the slightly enlarged portion of the third, are a pale yellowish white, the remaining joints a light opaque brown TAor= black, smooth and sbin-ing; without any grooves or striee whatever on tbe mesothorax 8cutellvm

smooth separated from the mesotborax by a broad sballow groove; foveee want-ing;marked posteriorly bytwoduptra~segrotnJU,'causing three transverse ridges aboveth~insertion of the abdominal peduncle Feetwhite witb a tinge

of yellow, like the basal joints of the antennm .Abdomenblack, smooth; indry specimens shrunken and wrinkled Wings large with a faint duskineas and a dusky cloud resting on the first transverse vein; veins dull brown; areolet pre-sent; radial area open, long and very narrow Length (dry) 09

~.-Ht4(/ black; antennre 15-jointedi three basal joints paler than of tho2 ; others a semitranslucent brown Third joint' very long, remaining ones short, and of eqnai length Third joint curved rather than incised TAoraz, the feet a~d the first and part of the second segment of the abdomen very light yellowish brown The central part of the mesothorax dark shining brown; terminal segments of abdomen dark browni in some specimens nearly black~

Length 10,slightly longer than the~.

Severd) hundred1) 1) and 2 2.

QUKRCU8TINflTORIA Woody, tUber-likegaU~,growing on the green

branch~8oj Q tinctoria, sometimes simp'l!J an enlargement oj tke limb,

tit otherR entirel§ checkl;l[J its growtl" tI'Ild covered witA lelltJeB. They are from thrce-!ourths to an inch and a halft'"length, and rather more than hnlf an incJ" in diameter at the bau, tapering to a r.one-like point.

C.q.scitula,n.sp

sOme' specimens a very dark brown, with a sbade of red, but most are a dull brownish black; face pubescent .Antenna:13-jointed, the 13th long and in the middle connatel, divided; the basal jointsyeIJowish~brown,tbe terminal dark brown, tbe transition gradual TAor<u: fin~lyand regularly punctate; parap-Ilidallines flne, and two parallel iDterparapsidal lines so faint astobe seen only

in certain positionstothe light, median line merely a longitudinal depression, ' ,aBbo~deep groove over the base of the wings 8cuWlumregularly and finely sculptured; basal pits obsolete Feetshining yellowish-brown Middle-of the

684 (lJECEMBER

I

I~

femur and tibia darker than the joints, tarsal tips black W"mg" hyaline, 1st transverse and radial veins dark brown, others pale but distinct; areoletoC me-dium size and at the base of the open radial area Length 09

The$ closely resembles the9in color and markings The aWomen is very long, and the antennre a rich amber color, with a few of the terminal joints of

a light brown In all the specimens I have examined (16) theft~of an tmn4ljoint6is8i:ctun. Length 08•

Numerous 9 9 and 25 $ $

Dr Fitch has given a very correct figure and description of the gall

of his O q. batatlUJ,which, it will be seen, closely resembles that of the above species Indeed there is little or no apparent difference in the

galls more than pertains to the different species of oak00which they grow, bot the ft.ies are very distinct As Dr Fitch describes the ft.y so very brieft.y that it ina.y easily be confounded with' O q scituJa, I give

a more full description below:

Quercusalba

O q batctusFitch (N Y Reports, Vol 2nd, No 311.)

~ Black, shining, entire head black, vertex smooth; face, covered with a fine thin pubescence; color of the pal pi, clear vitreous brown Antmna: 13.

jointed, first three joints pale yellow, others a pale semi·translucent brown

Thorazblack, shining, but under a powerful magnifier shows a net-work of fine lines; parapsidal grooves.and strire obsolete Scutellumsmooth, polished; a few scattered hairs on the posterior portion; basal pits wanting; separated from the mesothorax by a deep shining groove Abdomen black and polished but in all iny dry specimens contracted and wrinkled Feet,COXllBclear yel lowish brown, feIDur, in the middle dark brown or black, as is also the tibia of the posterior pair; remaining portions, except the tips of the tarsi which are black, are of the same color as theCOXllB. Wing8 hyaline, all the" veins dark brown and of nearly equal size The cubitus large and heavy its whole lengthi areolet large; radial area open Length 09

$.-The antennee of the male is 14-jointed Feet dull pale yellow Abdomen petiolate by the elongation of the first segment Length 08

Numerolis specimens $ and 9.*

• I am satisfied that there are annually two generations" of0 'g batatus. The first appears early in May, from galls of the preceding year's growth,-the last late in June, CrolD green galls, I have often (ound perfect insects in the galls

in winter, and have r('\ared Oies from them, apparently of the same species reared from the summer galls Inquilinae in great numbers are produced from the winter galls and few true gal18ies, while the reverse is true of the summer Corm Asmany of the I\ummerg~llsremain green after the Oies have left them, and as the tree's annual growth is nearly or quite complete the first of July,it•

QUERCUS ILIOIP'OLIA Olub-shaped, woodg galls, growing on the

ent:U of tAe small limbs .Apex blunt and generally tUNlecl to one Me, covered in summer with a few leaves and conta,·m·ng one, and occasion-ally tfDOor three larvt& It is strikingl!l like that of o q tuber of Fitch, but produces a fly whUih though closelJl related, is evidently a different speciel.

c.q.simi1is n sp

2. Head a.nd thore.x a bright brownish red; vertex of the hea.d finely sculp-tured; the rather prominent ocelli a.re blaCk only at the a.pex, face pubescent; hairs short, converging towards the mouth Antenna: IS-jointed, the 13th nearly

aslong as the two preceding ones and in some individuals there is an obscurely marked conna.te suture Phoraz coarsely puncta.te, sparsely ha.iry, a shade darker than the hea.d, three faint longitudinal lines rea.eh from the eollare to the scutellum, and two other lines; one on each side a.nd very close to the me-dian line, start from the oollare and extend ha.lf-way to the scutellum; obscure line over the base of the wingQ • &u.uUumsculptured, basal pits small, deep , and smooth The centra.l portion of thE'! pleura-in many spe.:ies smooth and polished-is in this covered with very fine longitudinal stril9 The legs of a uniform brownish red, except the tips of the ta.rsi which are black Wings,a sUbopaque white, the subcosta.l, anal, 1st and 2nd transverse very pale yellow, others colorless and the'DeintJjhicA boundsthe.potlterWr silk of the radial area in other 8pcciu is, in this obsolete, as is, aho, tAe cubitus and areolet .Abdomen,red, except the dorsal portion of the middle segments which is nearly blackj ter-minal segments withdrawn into the others in dry specimens, and the sheath of the ovipositor turned a.bruptly upward but does not extend above the back of the abdomen as in the Inquilinm Length 12

1>. Black head and thorax AntemuB IS-jointed, 1st and 2nd joints nearly bla.ck, others red Legs,posterior pairs dark reddish-brown, the posterior pair dark brown, nearly black-all iighter a.t the joints Abdomenblack and shin-ing, 2nd segment long Itis much s.maller than the fema.le Length 08

16 2 , 4 1; specimens.

c.q tuber Fitch (N Y Rep Vol 2nd, No 309.)

2.-Head black, sides, however, in a strong light have a tinge of red; face black, pubescent, hairs converging towards the mouth Antenncz

yellowish-brown, IS-jointed Thorru:,a reddish tiDge on the shoulder of the collar; other parts black, ra.ther densely pubescent: Thr.ee locgitudina.llines somewhat ob-scured by the pubescence; two short lines extend ha.lf way from the collareto the scutellum and there is a short faint line over the base of the wings; scutel· lum rough, hairy; fovm medium size; smooth spot on the pleura polished, shin-ing, but Dot perfectly smooth Leg, brown, ,tips of the tarsi black .Abdom.en

seems probable the June flies oviposit in the galls from which they were pro-duced.-Jan 28,186b.

686 [DECEMBER black shining, second segment longest, separated from the third by a connate lIuture, third with microscopic punctation Sheath of the ovipositor not turned

up nearly so much as in (J. q 8imili3,to which speci,es it is closely related

Wing.hyaline, sub-costal, 6rst and second transverse veins pale brown, othere colorless; lower part of the cubitus obsolete; areolet present; radial area open

Nine specimens.

I ba.ve a single male gall ily reared from the same~l1s, but it differs 'so muoh from the female that 1 am inolined to think it belongstoa different species The thorax is quite smooth and shining, with a few short, scattering hairs, and only two longitudinal lines that closely con-verge at the scutellum The venation of the wings is like that of the female described above, and is unquestionably'that of a true gall.ily Xhe antennre light dusky brown, 15-jointed; legs dark shining brown nearly black, paler at the joints.

Though the galls are very much alike, the venation of the wingH, the pleul're, and several other points of difference mark it as a distinct species from O q similis. Dr Fitch has figured the gall of his O q.

tuber which be found " quite common particularly upon the soft, and tender limbs of young (white oak) trees" (N Y Rep., Vol 2d, No 309) He describes (1 c No 310) the galls of a q ctrbos as "swellinKS

similar to that above described, growing on the tips of the limbs of' aged and large white oak trees."

My galls, which are probably identical with his O q tuber, were gathered from low, shrubby white oak bashes, though I have often

see~ precisely similar ones on large trees Dr Fitch's descriptions of

the ilies from O q tuber or O q arboB will apply,60far as they go, to

eith~r the gall lies, ortothe guest mes as the inquilinre are termed by

Mr Walsh For the reasons that follow, I am led to think that the species he described under the above names are both inquilinioUB species.

lat My gallS were gathered about the~Othof June, and were then green and soft like the wood of the young shoots on which they grew The insects were then in the pupa state, and the imago came out early

in July The gall froiD which Dr Fitch's O q arb08 was reared was

fou~d in March, and were of the preceding year's growth, as were also those of c q tuber, if we may judge from his description of the color

·.' ~ •.: :"'~"" :

687

.~.

of the gall, whichw~l1 only apply to the galls long after the true

gall-flieR have left them.

2nd My galls gathered from young white oaks, and which ansWer Perfectlytohi$ figure and description of O q tUber, produced females with HI-jointed aotenom, while his have but 12 aoteonal joints.

3rd I have gathered several hundreds of these galls in the autumn, -winter and early spring within the last two or three years, but have never reared from them one' true gall-fly, though they have produced large numbers of male and female gueat-flies-the male answering per-fectly to Dr Fitch's description of O q arb08. The female he had not seen.

4th The galls I collected in June have not yet produced any guest-ilies, but cutting open several to-day I found in one a large living larva-the others were empty or contained dead gall-Hies that had not been abletoeat their way out of the dried gall.

From the above facts I am forced to believe that the galls O q tuber

and arb08 Fitch are both produced by the same fly, and that it is the same species that I have described above and for which I retain Dr FitCh's name, '0 q~ tuber'. Dr Fitch has, no doubt, described two dis-tinct flies, for Mr Walah, who has devoted much attention to the guest-flies of the oak galls, finds that not only do somes~cieslive in several difFerent species of galls, but that the same kind of gall may produce more than one species of guest-fly (Proc Em Soc. Ph:il(l,d~

Vol 2d, p 465.}

Mr Walsh, in the article referred to, mentions other of Dr Fitch's species which he is satisfied are inquilinm, and not the producers of the _ galls from which they were reared (See pp 464-5, 484 and 494.) His remark that" O q tuber Fitch is in all probability a guest-fly," escaped my notice till this mQment.

QUBROU8 MONTANA Hard, round gaJls, 25 of an incA tn

d·ia·fM-ter with a finely papillose mrface and a 'solid radiated cdlular tMu

ture; growing sometimes on the upper, but as often on the under 8ide

of the leafj attacked to the larger veim by avery'alwrt pedicel.

These ga.lls are rarely met with, and I have seldom found more than one on a leaf In a single instance there were three on tlie same leaf, two on the under side and one on the upper My speoimens weM found

in October and contained perfeot insects Through the gall of several,

., ".,. ,"'.

,

gathered October 20th, the insect had eaten a passage but tbey still remain in the galls * Each contains a single, subapterous, female

gall-fly, closely relatedto O g.forticornil Walsh, and C g pezO'mQ<,lwidu

Osten Sacken Dr Fitch's figure and des-cription of the gall of O.q~

pisum, (N Y Rep Vol 2, No 319,) answers well for this gall, but his

were from a dift'erent species of oak, and this gall-fly is very distinct from that he describes Baron Osten Sacken informs me that these 8ubapterous females have winged males and belong to the genus Andri-cus.

I let this species stand with the related species named above and call it

O q.hirtan.sp

Head black, vertex slightly rugose, densely hairy as is also the entire dorsal portion of the thorax; {ace pubescent, hairs converging towards the mouthj

paJpi shining brown, tips black Antenn« long, slender, black, 14-jointed 2'Aonu: black, very small, densely covered with a coarse, yellowish-white pu-bescence No stria'! visible on the mesothorax They are concealed by the pubescence if they exist Feet a dull brownish black, but in a strong light appear of a very dark reddish brown, posterior pair lightest and all somewhat paler at the joints 'I'MtJJi.ngs are mere yellowish white scales Abdomen

large, black and shining, a short, close pubescence.on each side of the 2nd seg-ment and this and the remaining segseg-ments, except the first, bounded across the back and sides on the posterior edge by a belt of long, silvery white hairs These belts are divided on the dorsal ridge by a shining glabrous line like the anterior portion of the segment These belts are plainly visible without the aid of a magnifier Length

.14-Six 2 specimens.

Hewspeoiol ofgalls,the ties of whicharo, as yet, unkuown to me

QUEROUS CHINQUAPIN Gall a cone-likt bOff/}, developed from the

uxillaryleaf-buds, and covered when green and iiften wilen dry toithfA

<lense, rose-like cluster of imperfectly developed leaVt8.' The cell con-taining the larva smooth, shining, oual, about olCe-ei{Jhth of an inch long, }wJ,f immersed in the apex of the cone.-Q.Q.FRONDOElA n sp Gall

Hy unknown.

These singular and very pretty galls are developed after the summer growth of the tree is completed, and the axillary buds are fQrmed The

• November 29 A single Jly was found in the' box yesterday Itis quite ac-tive, and does Dot dUrer from those cut from the galls, showing thosetobave been mature

\