Amphibolips chilito Pujade-Villar & Cuesta-Porta, 2025

Cuesta-Porta, Víctor, Equihua-Martínez, Armando, Estrada-Venegas, Edith, Romero-Rangel, Silvia & Pujade-Villar, Juli, 2025, A new species of Amphibolips (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini) from Mexico, Zootaxa 5647 (5), pp. 451-460 : 452-457

Amphibolips chilito Pujade-Villar & Cuesta-Porta , sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:C669B299-6A8E-4EA0-8863-73B2BB5FA722

Figs 1–3 .

Type material. Holotype. Asexual female deposited in UB (JP-V col.), “MEX-848, Carretera Uruapán-Morelia (Km 63–64), Zirahuen, Michoacán, México, ex Q. calophylla , (18.vi.2023) 18-23.vi.2023, A. Equihua & JP-V leg.” (white label), “ HOLOTYPE, Amphibolips chilito Pujade-Villar & Cuesta-Porta , n. sp. ” (red label). Paratypes, 11 asexual females with the same label as the holotype (7 in the same place as holotype and 4 in COLPOS).

Etymology. Substantive in apposition, derived from the form of the gall that resembles chili pepper used in Mexico to make spicy meals and which they often call ‘chilito’.

Diagnosis. Amphibolips chilito sp. nov. is characterized by the females exhibiting the forewings with a darkened band on the anterior margin; the costal and anal cells hyaline; and toothed tarsal claws. The radial cell is heavily darkened and the 2r and Rs veins are hard to trace through the infuscation, as in A. nassa and A. zacatecaensis . Amphibolips chilito sp. nov. differs from A. nassa and A. zacatecaensis by the basal and 2nd cubital veins less darkened than radial cell, with basal vein conspicuously darker than their surrounding cells, the parapsidal lines are deeply impressed, surrounded by rugae, and the mesoscutellar foveae are transversally carinate and divided by a short medial carina anteriorly and an elevated and coarsely rugose triangle on posterior half. Amphobilps nassa and A. zacatecaensis exhibit deeply infuscate basal and 2nd cubital cells, with the basal vein hard to trace through the infuscation, the parapsidal lines are conspicuous and elevated, surrounded by a smooth area, and the mesoscutellar foveae are transversally carinate and divided by a long medial carina in A. zacatecaensis , and smooth and fused in A. nassa .

Description. Asexual female ( Figs 1–2 ).

Color. Head black, except mandibles chestnut brown; antennae black, mesosoma black, legs black, metasoma black with reddish brown tinges ventrally.

Head transversally ovate in anterior view ( Fig. 1a ), 2.1x as broad as long from above, 1.2x as broad as high in anterior view and narrower than mesosoma; frons uniformly rugose with shiny alutaceous interspaces, almost glabrous; lower face rugose with dull alutaceous interspaces, with long white setae. Gena rugose with alutaceous interspaces, broadened behind the eye and visible in anterior view, 1.4x as broad as cross diameter of eye, smooth band on posterior margin of eye usually with faint carina radiating from the eye margin; malar space dull rugose and faintly rugose and alutaceous-smooth on ventral margin of eye with short irradiating carinae from clypeus; height of eye 1.3x as long as length of malar space. Ocelli slightly elevated above frons in frontal view; POL subequal to OOL; diameter of lateral ocellus 1.8x as long as POL, and 1.8x longer than OOL; ocelli ovate; LOL shorter than diameter of ocellus ( Fig. 1b ). Transfacial distance 1.9x as broad as height of eye; diameter of antennal torulus 2.0x longer than distance between toruli, distance between torulus and inner margin of eye subequal to diameter of torulus. Clypeus densely pubescent, smooth with dense piliferous points, ovate, ventrally projected, covering part of mandibles, with ventral margin slightly incised medially; anterior tentorial pits deep, epistomal sulcus inconspicuous, clypeo-pleurostomal lines distinct. Frons, vertex, interocellar area and occiput uniformly rugose with alutaceous interspaces. Occiput with transversal carina in dorsal view. Labial palpus 3-segmented, maxillary palpus 5-segmented.

Antenna ( Fig 1e ) with 12 flagellomeres (in some specimens the suture between F12 and F11 is incomplete rarely hardly visible); slightly longer than head+mesosoma, scape 2.5x as long as pedicel; pedicel subglobose, slightly broader than long; F1 1.2x longer than scape+pedicel and 1.5x as long as F2; F2 1.2x as long as F3; F3 nearly equal in length to F4, subsequent flagellomeres shorter, F12 1.4x as long as F11, or F11 partially divided; placodeal sensilla visible on F4–F12, absent on F1–F3.

Mesosoma slightly longer than high. Pronotal plate alutaceous with piliferous points, rest of pronotum rugate; propleuron black alutaceous. Mesoscutum round, uniformly rugose with alutaceous interspaces, slightly broader than long in dorsal view (largest width measured across mesoscutum on the level of tegulae base). Notauli rugose ( Figs 1c–d ), inconspicuous under mesoscutum’s rugose sculpture; anterior parallel lines conspicuous and elevated, surrounded by faintly rugose sculpture, extending to almost half of mesoscutum length; parapsidal lines deeply impressed, originating from posterior margin and extending to nearly half length of mesoscutum, surrounded by alutaceous sculpture ( Fig. 1d ); median mesoscutal sulcus visible, percurrent; parascutal carina extending past the level of the tegula, not reaching anterior parallel lines. Transscutal articulation visible. Mesoscutellum 0.4x as long as mesoscutum, coarsely dull rugose, quadrangular with round corners, slightly broader than long, slightly overhanging metanotum; mesoscutellar disc almost glabrous, and lateral and posterior margins of mesoscutellum more densely pubescent; transscutal carina present laterally and posteriorly interrupted by posterior depression; scutellar foveae round, deep, shiny and with transversal strong carinae, lateral sides with strong narrow carinae; foveae divided by an elevated triangle tipping into a strong carina at most anterior end, transversal carinae radiating from median carina, posteriorly delimited by faint carinae; mesoscutellum emarginated posteriorly, with depression extending medially into the mesoscutellar disc and reaching the posterior margin of mesoscutellum. Mesopleuron uniformly rugose with alutaceous interspaces and sparse pubescent, some rugae forming subparallel longitudinal striae on posterior margin ( Fig. 2a ). Mesopleural triangle rugose and densely pubescent; dorsoaxillar area rugose; lateral axillar area and axillula faintly rugose, with few short, white setae; subaxilular bar shining, smooth, triangular in lateral view, highest part reaching half-height of mesoscutellum in lateral vie; postalar process long, with parallel striae. Metapleural sulcus conspicuous, reaching half-height of mesopleuron, partially obscured by the dull rugose sculpture. Metanotum rugose, metanotal trough posteriorly alutaceous and turning into rugose laterally, impressed ventral area rugate-coriaceous, slightly shorter than height of metanotum. Central propodeal area rugose ( Fig. 2b ), shining smooth interspaces; lateral propodeal carinae visible, partially covered by sculpture, subparallel, slightly curved outwards, extended posteriorly to lateral sides of nucha; lateral propodeal area with irregular strong wrinkles and dense white setae; nucha short, alutaceous with faint wrinkles. Legs with sparse short white setae; tarsal claws with basal lobe.

Forewing ( Fig 2e ) longer than body, with short dense cilia on margin; completely infuscate, with heavily infuscate band on anterior margin of wing not covering the costal cell; veins dark brown; radial cell darkened, long, open on margin, 3.9x as long as broad; basal and 2nd cubital cells less darkened than radial cell, R1 not reaching wing margin; areolet visible, triangular, elongate towards basalis, closed; Rs+M reaching basalis at its half height; basal vein clearly visible though the infuscation of the surrounding cells.

Metasoma as long as head+mesosoma, slightly longer than high in lateral view; metasomal tergum II reaching 2/3 of metasoma length, mainly shining smooth, with short sparse setae laterally, and denser pubescence ventrally; conspicuous punctures on posterior third, micropunctures becoming progressively fainter anteriorly, punctures extend from posterolateral to dorsal region, faint reticulated sculpture sometimes present anterior to the margin of micropunctures, posterior margin of metasomal tergum II with a very narrow smooth band, without punctures; all subsequent terga dorsally and laterally uniformly and entirely micropunctate, with a narrow smooth band posteriorly on each tergum. Ventral spine of hypopygium robust, short, needle-like, prominent part 4.2x as long as broad, with two rows of white setae each side, extending beyond apex of spine ( Fig. 2c ). Body length 6.0– 6.8 mm (n=12).

Gall ( Fig. 3a–c ). Fusiform, unilocular bud gall, ending in a tip, 10–15 cm in length and with greatest diameter near middle of the gall, up to 40 mm. A strong carina crossing the gall longitudinally. The gall is thin-walled, green when mature, and turning light brown when dry. Parenchyma rather lignified spongious tissue, with central round hard-walled larval chamber, with maximum length 4.0– 4.2 mm.

Hosts. Quercus calophylla Schltdl. & Cham. (Subgenus Quercus , Section Lobatae ).

Distribution. Mexico: Michoacan state.

Biology. Known presumably for its asexual generation. The galls were collected in mid-June and adults emerged on the same month.

Figures

FIGURE 1. (a–e) Asexual female of Amphibolips chilito sp. nov. (a) Head in frontal view. (b) Head in dorsal view. (c) Head and mesosoma in dorsal view. (d) Mesoscutum and mesoscutellum in dorsal view. (e) Antenna.

FIGURE 2. (a–e) Asexual female of Amphibolips chilito sp. nov. (a) Mesosoma in lateral view. (b) Mesosoma in posterior view. (c) Metasoma in lateral view. (d) Tarsal claw. (e) Forewing.

FIGURE 3. (a–c) Galls of Amphibolips chilito sp. nov.: (a) Mature gall; (b) Gall cut open; (c) Gall on Q. calophylla.