Amphibolips zacatecaensis

Amphibolips hidalgoensis (agamic)

Amphibolips nassa

Amphibolips fusus

Amphibolips jubatus (agamic)

Amphibolips zacatecaensis Melika & Pujade-Villar, new species

[Photos of this gall appear on page 6 of the pdf]

Gall (Figs 15–17). A rather large, subglobose, slightly spindle-shaped oak bud gall, with a nipple at the top. The body of the gall is quite globose, with greatest diameter near middle of the gall, up to 5.0 cm and 6.8 cm in length; from the middle the gall gradually tapering to a point (nipple) at the top. The gall is very thin-walled, light brown when mature, with smooth and naked surface; spongious internally, with radiating filaments and a central ovate, hard-walled larval chamber, with largest length of 5.0–6.5 mm.

Biology. Only the female is known, inducing galls on Quercus eduardi Trel. (Section Lobatae of Quercus, red oaks) which is found only in Mexico (Govaerts & Frodin 1998). The mature gall was collected in May and the dead adult wasp was cut out from the gall.

Amphibolips hidalgoensis Pujade-Villar & Melika, new species

[Photos of this gall appear on page 6 of the pdf]

Gall (Figs 18–20). A large, globose oak bud gall, with greatest diameter up to 6.5 cm. The gall is very thinwalled, light brown when mature, with smooth and naked surface; with spongy-like parenchyma and radiating filaments supporting the central, hard-walled ovate larval chamber, with largest length 5.0–6.5 mm

Biology. Only females are known, inducing galls on Quercus crassipes Humb. & Bonpl. and Q. crassifolia Humb. & Bonpl., which are distributed in Mexico and Guatemala, and Q. candicans Humb., an endemic oak species to Mexico (all in Section Lobatae of Quercus, red oaks) (Govaerts & Frodin 1998, Pujade-Villar et al. 2009). The mature galls were collected in early June and adult wasps emerged soon after field collection. 

Distribution. Currently known from Mexico: Hidalgo State, Acoxachitlan, Barrio de Tlacpac and Los Romeros; San Marcos, Tlaxcala. 

Comments. This may represent the asexual generation [we reared about 50 females and no males emerged from the collected galls]. This is the first gallwasp species reared from Quercus crassipes (Pujade-Villar et al. 2009)

Amphibolips nassa

[Photos of this gall appear on page 12 of the pdf]

in A. nassa, the gall is more elongate, spindle-shaped, with hard, lignified parenchyma

Amphibolips fusus

[Photos of the gall appear on page 12 of the pdf]

[A photo of this gall appears on page 12 of the pdf]

New Amphibolips gallwasp species from Mexico (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae)