Atrusca occidua (agamic)

Family: Cynipidae | Genus: Atrusca
Detachable: detachable
Color: pink, red, yellow, tan
Texture:
Abundance:
Shape: globular, sphere
Season: Fall, Winter
Related:
Alignment:
Walls: thin, radiating-fibers
Location: lower leaf, leaf midrib
Form: oak apple
Cells: monothalamous
Possible Range:i
Common Name(s):
Synonymy:
Name
▲
Notes
Cynips occidua

Origin of higher categories in Cynips
“

Cynips (dugèsi) occidua, new species
agamic form

GALL.-Similar to all galls of the C. bella and C. dugèsi complexes. Mature galls yellowish or bright rosy tan, younger galls richer rose; unspotted; smooth and shining to dull matte; very thin walled; moderate to very large, up to 24. mm., averaging near 21. mm. in diameter. Figure 57.

HOSTS.—Quercus depressipes, Q. potosina. Probably restricted to scrub oaks.

RANGE.-Zacatecas: Zacatecas, 22 SW (galls only, Q. potosima). La Mesa, 7000' (types, Q. depressipes). Probably restricted to an area in the Western Sierra of Mexico, in Zacatecas (and the adjacent corner of Ja lisco?). Figure 18.

LIFE HISTORY.—Adults: November 21, 24, 29, 30. January 10. February 5, 20, 24. Most of the galls gathered on November 21 still too young to breed. Most of the emergence in February.

This insect is known from only two collections on the high plateau that lies southwest of the city of Zacatecas. Whether the species is a geographic segregate occurring on all of the oaks of the region, or whether it is restricted to the alpine scrub oaks, remains to be discovered. Its closest relatives are oriens, found in the eastern mountains of San Luis PotosĂ­, and vasta and oriunda in the eastern Sierra of Tamaulipas. From all of these others occidua is distinguishable by its nearly uniform, bright brownish rufous. From C. vulgata, the next more southern species in the Western Sierra, occidua differs in its shorter wing body ratio (1.15), in its lack of black on the thoracic lines, and in several other characters.

No species of the C. bella complex is known from the area in which occidua occurs, so galls alone are determinable in this area.

”

- Alfred Kinsey: (1936) Origin of higher categories in CynipsŠ


Further Information:
Author(s)
▲
Year
▲
Title
▲
License
▲
VICTOR CUESTA-PORTA, GEORGE MELIKA, MAR FERRER-SUAY, ALEXIS VERA-ORTIZ, JULI PUJADE-VILLAR
2025
https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

See Also:
iNaturalist logo
BugGuide logo
Google Scholar logo
Biodiversity Heritage Library logo