Atrusca lucaris ( Kinsey, 1936 )

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), Zootaxa 5617 (1), pp. 1-195 : 103-106

Atrusca lucaris ( Kinsey, 1936)

Figs 318–330

Cynips ( dugesi ) lucaris Kinsey, 1936: 116 , female, gall.

Atrusca lucaris (Kinsey) : Weld 1952: 314.

Types examined. HOLOTYPE female Cynips ( dugesi ) lucaris “Huehuetenango Guate 4S 7500’, Mex. Gall 12.2.35, 12 fms. 1.8.36”, “ Q. pilicaulis, Kinsey coll.”, red “ Cynips lucaris , Holo- Paratype ”, deposited in AMNH, NYC, examined by GM. Two PARATYPE females “Huehuetenango, Guate 14S, 7500’ Mex., galls 12.23.35.”, “ Q. pilicaulis Kinsey coll.”, red label “ Cynips lucaris . Paratype ”, deposited in the general collection in AMNH, NYC, examined by GM.

Diagnosis. Atrusca lucaris belongs to the couplet characterized by a reddish to reddish-brown body color, without dark areas on the mesoscutum, sometimes with reddish areas a few shades darker than the rest of mesoscutum but never black, the big and prominent ocelli in frontal view, the OOL 2.0× longer than the diameter of the lateral ocelli, the parallel or slightly ventrally divergent inner margin of eyes, the last flagellomeres being subquadrate or slightly longer than broad, exhibiting fore wings with a complete and conspicuous venation, the Rs vein of radial cell being strongly but gradually curved distally, neither arcuate nor almost straight, the entirely rugose mesoscutellum, the mesopleuron and speculum completely smooth and lacking piliferous points, and the ventral spine of the hypopygium relatively short, 2.8–4.0× longer than broad, as in A. lucaris . Atrusca catena can be distinguished from A. catena by the dark brown head with the lower face black in the center, the mesoscutum exhibiting dark brown stripes, the mesoscutellum distinctly invaginated posterocentrally, the central propodeal area displaying strong irregular short rugae; and the fore wings are infuscated, with numerous darker spots and areas, while in A. catena the head is rusty brown, the mesoscutum has light brown stripes, the mesoscutellum exhibits a rounded posterior margin, the central propodeal area is smooth, without any rugae or striae, the lateral propodeal carinae are finely arched; and the hyaline fore wings with few slightly darker spots and stripes.

Re-description. Asexual female ( Figs 318–330 ). Head, last flagellomeres of antenna, mesosoma, legs, metasoma dark brown, with central area of lower face black, mesoscutum with darker brown stripes along anterior parallel and parapsidal lines.

Head quadrangular in frontal view, alutaceous, with sparse white setae, 1.3× as broad as high and narrower than mesosoma in frontal view, 1.8× 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 alutaceous, without striae radiating from clypeus; malar sulcus absent; eye 2.0× as high as height of malar space. Inner margins of eyes slightly diverging ventrally. POL 1.5× as long as OOL; OOL 2.2× as long as diameter of lateral ocellus and 1.9× as long as LOL; all ocelli ovate, of same size. Transfacial distance 1.2× as long as height of eye and 1.4× as long as height of as lower face; diameter of antennal torulus 1.5× as long as distance between them, distance between torulus and eye equal to diameter of torulus; lower face alutaceous, shining along eye, dull rugose in central part, below toruli and area between toruli, with white setae; slightly elevated median area rugose, without setae. Interocellar area slightly elevated above head in frontal view, lateral ocelli prominent. Clypeus trapezoid, impressed, with transverse delicate interrupted striae, broader than high, with a few long setae; ventrally rounded, emarginate, without median incision; anterior tentorial pit large, rounded, epistomal sulcus and clypeo-pleurostomal line broad, well impressed. Frons alutaceous reticulate with some rugae in central area, interocellar area alutaceous-reticulate without rugae, with few short setae, denser in the interocellar area; small rouned, smooth, shining impression present under central ocellus. Vertex, occiput, postocciput, postgena alutaceous-reticulate; postegna in ventral half with dense white setae; posterior tentorial pit large, ovate, area below impressed; occipital foramen slightly shorter than height of postgenal bridge; hypostomal carina emarginate, continuing into postgenal sulci which run parallel towards occipital foramen, postgenal bridge anteriorly broader than posteriorly and broader than occipital foramen. Antenna slightly shorter than length of body, with 12 flagellomeres, pedicel 1.6× as long as broad, F1 1.1× as long as scape+pedicel and 1.3× as long as F2; F2 1.3× as long as F3; F3 shorter F2 and slightly longer than F4, F4=F5, F6=F7, subsequent flagellomeres shorter, nearly equal in length, F12 1.3× as long as F11; placodeal sensilla on F4–F12.

Mesosoma 1.1× as long as high, with sparse short setae. Pronotum in lateral view alutaceous in dorsal part, smooth shining in the rest part, with short parallel striae along posterior edge; propleuron alutaceous along sides, smooth, shining centrally. Mesoscutum uniformly alutaceous to smooth, delicately rugose in anterior 1/3, with uniformly distributed piliferous points, with sparse white setae, denser anteriorly; slightly longer than broad (greatest width measured across mesoscutum at level of base of tegulae). Notaulus complete, deep, broad, with smooth, shining bottom, posteriorly broader and slightly converging; anterior parallel and parapsidal lines indistinct, indicated by smooth to delicately alutaceous stripes; median mesoscutal line absent; parascutal carina narrow, smooth, reaching notaulus. Mesoscutellum nearly rouned, as long as broad, uniformly dull rugose, posteriorly rounded, distinctly invaginated posterocentrally; overhanging metanotum; mesoscutellar foveae transverse, stongly defined posteriorly by a carina, broader than high, with smooth, shining bottom separated by a broad elevated rugose central carina. Circumscutellar carina probably complete but obscured by sculpture. Mesopleuron and speculum uniformly smooth, shining, with a few setae without piliferous points, especially ventrally; mesopleural triangle smooth, shining, with some irregular rugae and few setae; dorsal and lateral axillar areas smooth, shining, with dense setae; subaxillular bar smooth, glabrous, most posterior part slightly shorter than height of metanotal trough; metapleural sulcus reaching mesopleuron at half height, upper part of sulcus distinct. Metascutellum delicately coriaceous, 2.5× as high as height of smooth, shining ventral impressed area; metanotal trough smooth, shining, without setae; central propodeal area with strong irregular short rugae, shining; lateral propodeal carinae stron, broad and elevated, strongly bent outwards in posterior 1/3; lateral propodeal area smooth, shining, with long dense white setae. Nucha with longitudinal parallel delicate sulci laterally and dorsally. Tarsal claws toothed, with basal lobe.

Fore wing longer than body, slightly shorter than the normal size, margin with long dense cilia, with few slightly darker spots and stripes, wing infuscated, veins dark brown, radial cell open, 2.2× as long as broad; second abscissa of Rs curved; R1 and Rs nearly reaching wing margin; areolet triangular, indistinct, Rs+M inconspicuous, traceable along entire length, reaching basalis slightly below half of its height.

Metasoma slightly longer than head+mesosoma,slightly higher than long in lateral view;second metasomal tergum extending 2/3 metasoma length of in dorsal view, with white setae anterolaterally, without band of micropunctures posteriorly; subsequent terga without micropunctures, without setae. Hypopygium with micropunctures, prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium 2.8× as long as broad in ventral view, with a few short setae ventrally which do not extend beyond apex of spine.

Body length 2.6–3.5 mm ( Kinsey 1936).

Gall. The gall is similar to all galls of Kinsey’s bella and dugesi complexes, globular. Mature galls light yellow to rosy tan, flushed rose when younger, unspotted, darkening with age, up to 28 mm, in average 14 mm in diameter.

Biology. The asexual generation is only known to induce leaf galls on Q. peduncularis (= Q. pilicaulis ). Galls mature in late autumn; adults emerge in January–February next year.

Distribution. Guatemala.

Figures

FIGURES 318–323. Atrusca lucaris (Kinsey, 1936), asexual female. 318–321, head: 318, frontal view, 319, dorsal view, 320, lateral view, 321, posterior view. 322, antenna. 323, mesosoma and propleura, frontal view.

FIGURES 324–327. Atrusca lucaris (Kinsey, 1936), asexual female. 324, mesosoma, lateral view. 325, mesoscutum, dorsal view. 326, mesoscutellum, dorsal view. 327, metascutellum and propodeum, posterodorsal view.

FIGURES 328–330. Atrusca lucaris (Kinsey, 1936), asexual female. 328, fore wing. 329–330, metasoma: 329, lateral view, 330, ventral view.