Odontocynips championi (agamic)

Odontocynips hansoni (agamic)

Odontocynips championi (Cameron, 1883)n. comb. (Figs. 1, 2 & 5A-D)

GALL (Figs. 5B & D). The galls arc tuberous and are the largest oak galls of Panama, reaching in diameter 45 to 100 mm. They are strongly woody, irregular, often with large aggregates of clusters of smaller galls visible, polythalamous, with rugose surface, light grayish with light green tones similar to the color of the bark when fresh (Fig. 5B) and light brown when mature (Fig. 5D). When fresh, the galls are moderately hard, but they become very hard when mature, making them very difficult to dissect. The larval cells are rounded and are in the center of the hard parenchyma (Fig. 5D). The galls are formed in stems and twigs of Quercus bumelioides Liebm.

DISTRIBUTION. O. championi is a common gall found between 1500-3000 m a.s.l. at Volcan Baru, Chiriqui, Panama. 

BIOLOGY. Only the asexual generation is known, inducing galls on Quercus bumelioides (section Quercus). The galls are common and can be found throughout the year in different grades of maturation on the oak branches. The old galls remain on the trees for years. The wasps emerged from November to January. 

Odontocynips hansoni Pujade-Villar, 2008 (Figs. 3 & 5E-H)

Galls of O. hansoni are irregular, large swellings of oak stems (Fig. 50); internally there are a few scat-tered larval cells (Fig. 5H). They differ from the galls of a championi in being more regular and much less cluster-like. Furthermore, according to our sampling data in Panama, while the galls of a championi are very common the galls of O. hansoni are rare. 

The genus Odontocynips Kieffer, 1910 (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae, Cynipini) in Panama, with redescription of Cynips championi Cameron 1883