Amphibolips niger (agamic)

Amphibolips aliciae (sexgen)

Amphibolips bassae (sexgen)

Amphibolips bromus

Amphibolips castroviejoi (sexgen)

Amphibolips cibriani (agamic)

Amphibolips dampfi (sexgen)

Amphibolips durangensis

Amphibolips fusus

Amphibolips hidalgoensis (agamic)

Amphibolips jaliscensis (sexgen)

Amphibolips michoacaensis (sexgen)

Amphibolips nassa

Amphibolips nevadensis (sexgen)

Amphibolips oaxacae (sexgen)

Amphibolips palmeri (agamic)

Amphibolips quercuspomiformis (agamic)

Amphibolips quercuspomiformis (sexgen)

Amphibolips rulli (agamic)

Amphibolips salicifoliae (sexgen)

Amphibolips tarasco (sexgen)

Amphibolips turulli (sexgen)

Amphibolips zacatecaensis

Amphibolips comini (agamic)

A. niger Beutenmüller 1909 (originally named as A. nigra)

Amphibolips aliciae 

[Photos of this gall appear on page 39 of the pdf]

Galls of A. aliciae are fusiform, fragile onto smallest pressure, internal hollow-like space with thin filaments radiating from the central larval chamber (Figs 14B, 14D); while galls of A. kinseyi n. sp. and A. quercuspomiformis comb. nov. are subglobose, hard, with internal space obliterated by a spongious parenchyma. The internal structure of A. aliciae gall also resembles the gall of A. salicifoliae, which are hollow with radiating filaments. However, they can be differentiating by the shape and gall location: fusiform galls on buds in A. aliciae and spherical galls on leaves in A. salicifoliae. 

Gall (Figs 14A–D). A fusiform bud gall with a fine tip and base, with a hard, lignified outer shell, 2.5 mm long. Internal space hollow with thin filaments radiating from the central larval chamber, 5–6 mm in diameter. 

Hosts. Quercus salicifolia (Panama); Q. crassifolia (Mexico, new record). 

Biology. Only the sexual generation is known. Galls were collected from January to March; adults emerged shortly after gall collecting. Distribution. Panama (original description), Mexico: Puebla state, new record.

Amphibolips bassae n. sp.

[Photos of this gall appear on page 44 of the pdf]

Gall (Figs 16E–G). A rather small, subglobose bud gall, around 40 mm in diameter; slightly narrower at base around the connection with the branch. The gall is thick-walled, with lignified parenchyma, olive green when mature and turn light brown when dry, with smooth and naked surface; hard spongious parenchyma internally with central ovate, hard-walled larval chamber, with largest length of 5.0–6.5 mm. 

Host. Quercus crassifolia. 

Biology. Only the sexual generation is known. The mature gall was collected in May; adults emerged in June. 

Distribution. Mexico: Puebla State

Amphibolips bromus, n. sp.

[Photos of this gall appear on page 39 of the pdf]

Gall (Fig. 14H). A very thin and elongate bud gall, about 50 mm long, with greatest width near the middle, up to 4 mm wide; elongate and thin petioles widening near median part, pointy apex gradually tapering from middle part. The gall is thin-walled, with a smooth and naked surface; thin spongious layer internally surrounding the central ovate larval chamber, with mature galls having a length of 5.0–6.5 mm. 

Hosts. Quercus affinis, Q. crassipes. 

Biology. Only the females are known. The mature gall was collected in May; adults emerged by the end of May. 

Distribution. Mexico: Hidalgo and Mexico States.

Amphibolips castroviejoi

Galls of A. castroviejoi are differ from all other known galls; they are large (on average 54 x 43 mm), irregularly spherical or globose, elongated at the base, with a thick peduncle, without apical tip, and with a smooth, mottled surface. 

Gall. A globose bud gall, 45–58 mm in diameter, with short elongation at the base forming a thick peduncle. Light green and mottled when mature, turning light brown when dry. Outer shell thin, hard. Internal parenchyma soft and spongious. Central larval chamber with a hard shell, 5–6 mm in diameter. A picture of the gall is given in Medianero & Nieves-Aldrey (2010: Figs 8A–C). 

Host. Quercus salicifolia. 

Biology. Only the sexual generation is known. Galls were collected in January; adults emerged in February. 

Distribution. Panama

Amphibolips cibriani

[Photos of this gall appear on page 39 of the pdf]

 The gall also differs from all other known galls from Mexico and Central America (see below). 

Gall. (Figs 14I–K) A subglobose bud gall, approximately 20 mm in diameter. Outer shell lignified and hard. Surface rugulose, uniformly light brown, with short apical tip and peduncle. The gall is monolocular, with a spongy internal tissue, filling the entire gall, with central rounded larval cell. 

Host. Quercus crassipes.

Biology. Only females are known. The galls were collected in April; adults emerged in May. 

Distribution. Mexico: Ciudad de México State

Amphibolips dampfi Kinsey

[Photos of this gall appear on page 43 of the pdf]

This species highly resembles A. turulli n. sp. (see below) especially for the similar mesoscutellum and forewing colour pattern; but in A. dampfi the area laterad to parapsidal lines rugose (alutaceous in A. turulli n. sp.); forewings with anal and basal half of discoidal cells completely infuscate (hyaline in A. turulli n. sp.), fragile subglobose internally spongious bud galls slightly pedunculate and with small tip at apex with internal spongious tissue soft, mainly white turning into roseate around larval cell, light brown when dry (turgescent green leaf galls in A. turulli n. sp.). The gall of A. dampfi is unmistakable. It is very deformable for its lax and soft spongy internal tissue with a cotton-like appearance. It resembles A. zacatecaensis gall but in A. dampfi the internal tissue is white to rosy near the larval chamber, very soft, cotton-like (light brown and denser in A. zacatecaensis). 

Gall (Fig. 15E). Monolocular subglobose bud gall, up to 50 mm in diameter, with slightly elongate apex and base with smooth and fragile surface, homogenous in colour; internal spongious tissue soft, white to rosy, turning brown when dry; with cotton-like texture (the fibers leaving numerous aerial interspaces); larval chamber occupying central part of the gall, about 4–5 mm in diameter, embedded with spongious tissue.

Hosts. Quercus ocoteifolia, Q. affinis. 

Biology. Only the sexual generation is known. Galls mature by February and March; adults emerge from February to April 

Distribution. Mexico: Hidalgo and Oaxaca states. 

Remarks. The name of the host plant (Q. ocoteifolia), cited in the original description of this species, was erroneously written as Q. ocoteaefolia. This incorrectly spelled epithet appeared in a number of infraspecific descriptions: Quercus ocoteaeifolia f. confusa Trel., Q. laurina var. ocoteaefolia (Liebm.) Wenz., and Q. nitens var. ocoteaefolia (Liebm.) A. DC. All those forms and varieties were synonymized under Q. ocoteifolia. 

Comments. According to Melika et al. (2011) A. dampfi closely resembles A. palmeri Basset 1890 and may be synonymous. The type of A. palmeri (a single female) is lost, nevertheless the adult and gall descriptions seem to be consistent with this hypothesis (see A. palmeri below). The type of A. dampfi is also presumed to be lost (C. Le Beau pers. comm.).

Amphibolips durangensis

The gall of this species closely resembles A. fusus, differs by the elongation of both, peduncle and apical tip, thinner in A. durangensis; surface of galls is crossed by longitudinal ridges in A. durangensis and smooth in A. fusus.

Gall. Galls on buds, fusiform, maximum 43–54 mm in diameter, with elongate thin peduncle and apical tip; outer shell thin, hard, usually smooth with longitudinal ridges; internal spongious soft tissue with central larval chamber, around 5 mm (Nieves-Aldrey et al. 2012: Figs 18C–D). 

Host. Quercus scytophylla. 

Biology. Only females are known. The mature galls were collected in early July; adults emerged in October. 

Distribution. Mexico: Durango State

Amphibolips fusus

[A photo of this gall appears on page 39 of the pdf]

Galls of A. fusus greatly differ from the galls of the other mentioned species. However, galls most closely resemble galls of A. durangensis, but differ by the smooth and even surface in A. fusus (with transversal ridges in A. durangensis), and both the peduncle and apical tip narrow gradually in A. fusus (peduncle and apical tip highly narrowed into acicular projections in A. durangensis). 

Gall (Fig. 14E). Monolocular bud gall. Fusiform, 9–13 mm in diameter, with a peduncle and a fine tip. Outer shell thick, hard, light brown when mature, with smooth glabrous surface, without mottled surface. Internal tissue relatively soft and spongy; made up of dense irradiating fibers visible only at the base and apex; dense and compact at the central body of the gall where the space is mostly occupied by the larval chamber. Central, oval larval chamber (5.0–6.0 mm) relatively hard-walled. 

Hosts. Quercus eduardi (original description) and new records on Q. crassipes and Q. laurina here. 

Biology. Only females are known. The mature galls were collected in early June; adults were extracted dead in November (according to the original description); no adults were found in the newly collected galls. 

Distribution. México: Ciudad de México, and Zacatecas states. 

Remarks. Kinsey’s original description states that this species has POL 1.3x as long as OOL. Despite being true in the holotype, POL is equal to OOL in the new specimens that were reared from similar galls, on the same host plant. We attribute this difference to the intraspecific variability considering that no additional differences were detected. Nieves-Aldrey et al. (2012) differentiated this species based on the forewing colouration and F1 being 1.2x as long as F2. These characters became inaccurate to discriminate A. fusus, due to the discovery of additional species, described in this paper, possessing the same character states: A. cibriani Pujade-Villar 2018, A. bassae n. sp. and A. bromus n. sp. (see above)

Amphibolips hidalgoensis 

[Photos of this gall appear on page 43 of the pdf]

 This species closely resembles [A. tarasco](https://www.gallformers.org/gall/3777). Galls of both species are subglobose bud galls, but A. hidalgoensis has galls with a thin, uniformly coloured outer shell and soft spongious internal tissue, while galls of A. tarasco have a mottled surface and outer shell and internal spongious tissue that is rather hard (Figs 16H–I). The gall is similar to other species with a large globular shape without a mottled surface; it is not differentiable from A. michoacaensis and A. jaliscensis, but differs from A. quercuspomiformis comb. nov., A. oaxacae, A. tarasco, A. kinseyi n. sp. and A. bassae n. sp. by having a deformable surface under applied finger pressure, because the parenchyma is relatively soft in A. hidalgoensis, A. jaliscensis and A. michoacaensis. 

Gall (Figs 15A–B). Usually large, subglobose, detachable bud galls, sometimes with fine tip at apex. Maximum diameter 30–65 mm. Outer shell thin and fragile; internal tissue spongious and soft with central larval chamber about 5 mm in diameter. 

Hosts. Quercus acutifolia, Q. calophylla, Q. castanea, Q. crassifolia, Q. crassipes, Q. mexicana. 

Biology. Only females are known. We consider this species to be an asexual form as we have never obtained males after the emerging of more than 100 females from different localities. The mature galls were collected in late May to early June; most adults emerged soon after field collection, some were reared in November. 

Distribution. Mexico: Hidalgo, Mexico and Tlaxcala states. 

Remarks. After the examination of A. malinche types, we found great similarities between this species and A. hidalgoensis. Furthermore, the galls of both species are identical. Amphibolips malinche were sampled in the state of Tlaxcala and numerous specimens of A. hidalgoensis were collected 30 km away from the location of the two known specimens of A. malinche. The two specimens of A. malinche reared from galls of Q. mexicana, which shares distribution with the rest of host plant species (Q. calophylla, Q. crassifolia and Q. crassipes) in the states of Ciudad de México, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, México, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro. This species is currently the only one known to have such a wide range but no correlation with other characters has been found. Amphibolips hidalgoensis is by far the most frequently collected Amphibolips species in Mexico. Such sampling bias might be concealing other, poorly sampled, species’ variability and attributing as intraspecific variability to a possible widely spread interspecific common trait. Alternatively, A. hidalgoensis is probably a complex of species that cannot be sorted out by only morphological criteria. For all these reasons we consider A. malinche as a syn. nova of A. hidalgoensis.

Amphibolips jaliscensis 

Galls of A. jaliscensis and A. michoacaensis are subglobose, outer shell thin and rather fragile with uniform colouration (pale green in A. jaliscensis and whitish in A. michoacaensis), with spongious parenchyma internally, the gall turning brown when dry. Galls of A. nevadensis are different for its distinct apical tip. Amphibolips jaliscensis gall is similar to other species with large globular shape, without mottled surface; it is not differentiable from A. hidalgoensis and A. michoacaensis, but differs from A. quercuspomiformis comb. nov., A. oaxacae, A. tarasco, A. kinseyi n. sp. and A. bassae n. sp. in having a deformable surface at finger pressure because the parenchyma relatively soft in A. hidalgoensis, A. jaliscensis and A. michoacaensis. 

Gall. Spherical bud galls, maximum diameter 43–54 mm; outer shell thin, firm, surface smooth with uniform pale green colour turning into brown when dry; internal tissue soft and spongious, with central larval chamber around 5 mm (Nieves-Aldrey et al. 2012: Figs 19A–B). 

Hosts. Quercus aff. calophylla (= Q. aff. candicans), Q. laurina. 

Biology. The sexual generation is only known. The mature galls were collected in late March; adults emerged in April and May. 

Distribution. Mexico: Jalisco and Mexico states. 

Remarks. This species is difficult to differentiate from A. michoacaensis, except for two scutellar characters. This fact leads us to suspect that they might be the same species. 

Amphibolips michoacaensis

The large globular gall is similar to other species, with or without mottled surface (Nieves-Aldrey et al. 2012: Figs 20A–B); impossible to differentiate from A. hidalgoensis and A. jaliscensis but differs from A. quercuspomiformis comb. nov., A. oaxacae, A. tarasco, A. kinseyi n. sp. and A. bassae n. sp. by the deformable surface at finger pressure because of the relatively soft parenchyma in A. hidalgoensis, A. jaliscensis and A. michoacaensis. 

Gall. A subglobose large bud gall, up to 48 mm in diameter, outer shell thin but resistant, uniformly pale green, turning into brown when dry. The gall is monolocular, with a spongy internal tissue, filling the entire gall. The larval cell is rounded (Nieves-Aldrey et al. 2012: Figs 20A–B). 

Host. Quercus castanea, Q. emoryi. 

Biology. Only the sexual generation is known. Galls were collected between April and May; adults emerged between May and October of the same year of collection. 

Distribution. Mexico: Michoacan and Zacatecas states. 

Remarks. Nieves-Aldrey et al. (2012) described the males with 12 flagellomeres, however, the antenna has 13 flagellomeres (type specimens examined). This species shares several characters with A. jaliscensis, including the forewing pattern, that were originally used as diagnostic (Nieves-Aldrey et al. 2012), and the gall morphology is also similar between the two species (see corresponding remarks under A. jaliscenis).

Amphibolips nassa

[Photos of this gall appear on page 43 of the pdf]

 Amphibolips nassa closely resembles A. zacatecaensis but differs in . . . and galls (A. nassa are subglobose, but a bit fusiform with a tip and a base, with lignified spongious parenchyma while in A. zacatecaensis galls are fragile, globose with a tiny tip at apex, with soft spongious parenchyma. The galls are very similar to A. nevadensis and A. rulli n. sp. ; galls of these species cannot be differentiated, only by the uniformly brown surface of the galls of A. nassa (mottled in A. nevadensis and A. rulli n. sp. ), and the host plants are different; Amphibolips nassa in buds of Q. castanea, A. nevadensis galls on Q. calophylla and A. rulli n. sp. on Q. eduardi and Q. viminea. All these galls are subglobose, hard and with an apical tip, resulting from the longitudinal elongation of the gall. 

Gall (Figs 15F–G). A rather large, subglobose, slightly fusiform, elongated bud oak apple, up to 48 mm in diameter, detachable, with a fine tip and base; with hard, lignified parenchyma. Larval chamber central or near the base of the gall, on buds. Host. According to the original description, Q. castanea. 

Biology. Galls were collected in December; the only known adult was dissected out of the gall. 

Distribution. Mexico: Michoacán state. 

Remarks. Kinsey (1937) mentioned that similar galls were collected in the same place on Q. mexicana by Morelia from the same host plant as the holotype, but after knowing that different species are found in similar galls, we cannot assure this citation was correct

Amphibolips nevadensis

Galls are very similar to those of A. nassa and A. rulli n. sp.; these species cannot be differentiated by galls, only by the host plant; Amphibolips nevadensis on Q. calophylla, A. nassa on Q. castanea and A. rulli n. sp. on Q. eduardi and Q. viminea. All these galls are subglobose, very hard and fusiform at apex, ending in a defined tip. 

Gall. A subspherical bud gall, fusiform at apex, ending in a tip, maximum 40 mm in diameter, outer shell thin, resistant, slightly lignified. Olive green with pale green spots when fresh and turning dark green when dry. The gall is monolocular, with a spongy internal tissue, filling the entire gall. The larval cell is rounded. Pictures of the gall are provided in Nieves-Aldrey et al. (2012: Figs 19E–F) 

Host. According to the original description, Q. calophylla (= candicans). We found galls on the same host plant. 

Biology. Only females are known. The galls were collected in March; adults emerged in the same month. 

Distribution. Mexico: Jalisco State. 

Amphibolips oaxacae

The globular gall resembles others but galls of A. oaxacae and A. tarasco are hard, around 40 mm in diameter, not deformable at finger pressure, with mottled surface. Both species cannot be differentiated by galls shape, only by the host plant: A. oaxacae galls on Quercus sp. aff. sapotifolia, A. tarasco galls on Q. castanea. 

Gall. A subglobose large bud gall, maximum 40 mm in diameter, outer shell thin, resistant, slightly lignified. Pale green with darker green spots when fresh and turning brown when dry. The gall is monolocular, with a spongy internal tissue, filling in the entire gall; the larval cell is rounded (Nieves-Aldrey et al. 2012: Fig. 18F). 

Host. Quercus sp. aff. sapotifolia (according to original description). 

Biology. Only females are known. The galls were collected in March; adults emerged in the same month. Distribution. Mexico: Oaxaca State. 

Remarks. Most closely resembles A. tarasco. Only one specimen of A. oaxacae is known and until more material is found it is impossible to sort out the intraspecific variability in this species. However, the actual differences that determine A. oaxacae are robust enough to consider it as a valid species. 

Amphibolips palmeri species dubia

The type material is presumably lost (Buffington pers. com.). 

This species was described from a single specimen extracted from a gall collected from an unidentified Quercus species by Basset (1890). According to the author, the gall was donated by Mr. B. Pickman Mann and had the following label: “Summit of Sierra Madre, Chihuahua, México. Winter 1885–86, Dr. Edward Palmer”. Beutenmüller (1909) in his revision of the Amphibolips of North America broadened the distribution of this species to Guadalajara (Jalisco, México) for a gall deposited in the American Museum of Natural History, but did not add any new information to the description of the species. Amphibolips palmeri was not mentioned in Kinsey (1937) paper on Amphibolips of México. 

In the latest studies on Amphibolips (Melika et al. 2011; Nieves-Aldrey et al. 2012) as well as in this study, the type material of the species was not found. Concerning to the gall, it is a large spherical spongious bud gall. Light yellowish brown; the outer shell thin but firm. Internally soft spongious tissue. Larval chamber round embedded in the spongious tissue. Diameter: 35 to 70 mm. 

Remarks. According to Melika et al. (2011), this species closely resembles A. dampfi and might well be synonymous. The type (female) of A. palmeri is lost, nevertheless the adults and galls descriptions are consistent. For the moment, this species is considered as species dubia until the type material appears, or new data can be examined. 

Amphibolips quercuspomiformis comb. nov.

[Photos of this gall appear on page 44 of the pdf]

Cynips q. pomiformis Bassett, 1881: 74.
Andricus (Andricus) pomiformis (Bassett) Ashmead, 1885: 295
Callirliytis rossi Kieffer, 1903: 84. Synonymy in Weld, 1951: 652
Callirhytis maculipeunis Kieffer, 1904: 131. Synonymized by Kinsey, 1922: 36
Andricus yosemite Beutenmuller, 1911: 211. Synonymy in Weld, 1951: 652
Callirhytis pomiformis (Bassett) Mayr, 1902: 289
Andricus pomiformis var maculipennis (Kieffer) in Kinsey, 1922: 36
Callirhytis quercuspomiformis (Bassett), Weld, 1951: 652

Gall. Asexual galls (Figs 16A–D). A large multilocular subglobose bud gall, up to 40 mm in diameter. The body of the gall is spherical (rarely flattened or ovate), with greatest diameter near the middle of the gall; surface sometimes with low tubercles radiating more or less from the slightly pointed tip of the gall. The gall is hard-walled, yellowish to rufous-magenta when mature and turning to brownish orange when dry, with smooth and naked surface; spongious internally, with hard filaments connecting the larval chambers with the base of the gall; up to 50 hard-walled larval chambers clustered in the center of the gall, easily separable from the firm; sometimes resembling the inquiline larval chambers; each larval chamber around 2.0–4.0 mm in diameter. 

Hosts. Quercus agrifolia, Q. wislizenii, for both generations. 

Biology. Alternate sexual and asexual generations are known (Lyon 1959). Sexual galls appear from February to early April, mature in early May; adults emerged from mid-May to the first week of June. Asexual galls mature in October; adults emerged in November. 

Distribution. USA (California) and México (Baja California and Guanajuato states). 

Remarks. Kinsey (1922) named this species as Andricus pomiformis and described five varieties, considering Callirhytis maculipennis Kieffer 1904 one of them: A. pomiformis var descansonis (Kinsey 1922), A. pomiformis distinctus (Kinsey 1922), A. pomiformis pomiformis (Basset, 1881), A. pomiformis var maculipennis (Kieffer) and A. quercuspomiformis provincialis (Kinsey 1922). Later, Weld (1951), following Mayr’s work (1902), transferred this species to the genus Callirhytis and recognised only three of Kinsey’s varieties (var. descansonis, var distincta and var. provincialis). Later, Melika & Abrahamson (2002) concluded that this species belongs to the genus Amiphibolips but did not formalize the nomenclatorial act for species transfer. Herein this nomenclatorial act is completed. According to Kinsey (1922), the morphological differences of these varieties included . . . the gall surface (present several projections on the surface, each ending in a short filament in var. distinctus and surface smooth and naked in the rest). Among the varieties, the most deviant is var. distinctus based on the distinct notauli, median sulci visible and the surface of the galls with projections. However, Kinsey (1922) comments that some var. distinctus specimens share characters of var. maculipennis (as well as var. provincialis had specimens similar to var. maculipennis). Similarly, the new material from Baja California present distinct notauli, smooth notaular furrow posteriorly as in var. distinctus, but the median sulci and scutellar posteromedian depression are absent, and the speculum is completely smooth and glabrous. The distribution of the varieties is limited to California (USA) and range from the central to southern regions. All varieties have overlapping, or nearly so, distributions with at least another variety. The range of var. maculipennis includes localities from the range of var. descansonis, var. distinctus and var. provincialis, which occur almost exclusively in the southern regions. The variety pomiformis is limited to central California (San Francisco, Mount Diablo, Gilroy, and Salinas) and the closest known varieties are var. maculipennis and var. distictus (Yosemite Park and Merced Falls). Most of these characters also follow a continuous variation, and the distributions overlap in the southern regions for all, except var. pomiformis. Thus, there are not conspicuous character states to support these varieties as independent entities. Also, the host plant is Q. agrifolia in three of the varieties and Q. wislizenii in var. provincialis and var. distinctus. Both oaks are closely related and often form hybrids (Brophy & Parnell 1974). We consider all these varieties as intraspecific variations of Amphibolips quercuspomiformis comb. nov.

Amphibolips quercuspomiformis comb. nov.

Cynips q. pomiformis Bassett, 1881: 74.
Andricus (Andricus) pomiformis (Bassett) Ashmead, 1885: 295
Callirliytis rossi Kieffer, 1903: 84. Synonymy in Weld, 1951: 652
Callirhytis maculipeunis Kieffer, 1904: 131. Synonymized by Kinsey, 1922: 36
Andricus yosemite Beutenmuller, 1911: 211. Synonymy in Weld, 1951: 652
Callirhytis pomiformis (Bassett) Mayr, 1902: 289
Andricus pomiformis var maculipennis (Kieffer) in Kinsey, 1922: 36
Callirhytis quercuspomiformis (Bassett), Weld, 1951: 652

Gall. Sexual galls. A toadstool-shaped gall arising singly, or occasionally in groups of two or three from the lamina of the underside of the leaves. Galls are tinged with rose or pink when young, although most are light-green in colour. Galls are monolocular, with the single cell occupying the space below the flared top of the gall. The elongated stem of the gall is solid. 

Hosts. Quercus agrifolia, Q. wislizenii, for both generations. 

Biology. Alternate sexual and asexual generations are known (Lyon 1959). Sexual galls appear from February to early April, mature in early May; adults emerged from mid-May to the first week of June. Asexual galls mature in October; adults emerged in November. 

Distribution. USA (California) and México (Baja California and Guanajuato states). 

Amphibolips rulli n. sp.

[Photos of this gall appear on page 43 of the pdf]

Gall (Figs 15H–I). A subspherical, bud gall, fusiform at apex, ending in a tip, with greatest diameter near middle of the gall, up to 35 mm in diameter. The gall is thin-walled, olive green, mottled with clear spots when mature and turn brown when dry, mottles still visible; parenchyma rather lignified, rugose; internal tissue hard spongious, with central ovate hard-walled larval chamber, with mature length 5.0–6.0 mm. 

Hosts. Quercus eduardi, Q. emoryi, Q. viminea. 

Distribution. Mexico: Zacatecas State. 

Biology. Only females are known. Mature galls were collected in October; adults emerged in November

Amphibolips salicifoliae

Galls of A. salicifoliae are subglobose, on the underside of leaves, very fragile, outer shell thin, hollow internally with thin filaments radiating from larval chamber while galls of A. quercuspomiformis comb. nov. are on buds, with outer shell hard, internal parenchyma spongious. Thin filaments radiating from the larval chamber to the outer shell in A. aliciae. We can differentiate these galls by the shape of the gall and its location (fusiform bud galls in A. aliciae and spherical leaf galls in A. salicifoliae).

Host. Quercus salicifolia. 

Gall. Globose and fragile galls on the underside of leaves, with maximum diameter 30 mm; outer shell thin, internal space hollow with filaments radiating from the larval chamber. Larval chamber central or at the base of the gall (Medianero & Nieves-Aldrey 2010: Figs 8G–H). 

Biology. The sexual generation is only known. Galls were collected in January; adults emerged in February. 

Distribution. Panama.

Amphibolips tarasco

[Photos of this gall appear on page 44 of the pdf]

Gall (Figs 16H–I). A subglobose large bud gall, with maximum 40 mm in diameter, with thin, slightly lignified and resistant outer shell. Pale green with darker green spots when fresh and turning brown when dry. The gall is monolocular, with a spongy internal tissue, filling the entire gall. The larval cell is rounded. 

Hosts. Quercus acutifolia, Q. castanea, Q. mexicana. 

Biology. The sexual generation is only known. The galls were collected between March and June; adults emerged in the same months of collection. 

Distribution. Mexico: Michoacán and Puebla States.

Amphibolips turulli n. sp.

[Photos of this gall appear on page 39 of the pdf]

Gall (Figs 14F–G). A turgescent spherical gall located on the underside of leaves. The body of the gall is globose, with greatest diameter near middle of the gall measured from base to apex, up to 20–25 mm. The gall is thin-walled, olive green when mature and turns wrinkled when dry, with smooth and naked surface, succulent, with central ovate hard-walled larval chamber, with largest length of 5.0–6.5 mm. 

Hosts. Quercus affinis. 

Biology. Only females are known. The mature galls were collected in late June; adults emerged in early July. 

Distribution. Mexico: Hidalgo State. 

Remarks. The gall of this new species is not usual for Mexican Amphibolips species, but two North American species have similar galls on the underside of leaves: A. quercusracemaria (Ashmead, 1881) from Florida (USA) on Q. laurifolia and A. nubilipennis (Harris, 1841) from Massachusetts on several species of red oaks. Nevertheless, the sculpture of the mesoscutum and the colour pattern of wings are different in A. quercusracemaria and A. nubilipennis

Amphibolips zacatecaensis

[Photos of this gall appear on page 43 of the pdf]

The gall resembles that of A. dampfi, but in A. zacatecaensis the internal tissue is dense and light brown while it is soft, cotton-like, white to rosy near the larval chamber in A. dampfi. 

Gall (Figs 15C–D). Galls on buds, rather large, with maximum diameter 50–68 mm, subglobose, gradually tapering to a tip at apex; outer shell thin and fragile, usually smooth, sometimes wrinkled or rugose; internal tissue soft, light brown and spongious, but consistent with central larval chamber, which is around 5 mm in diameter. 

Host. Quercus eduardi. 

Biology. Only females are known. The mature galls were collected in late May; adults emerged soon after field collection. 

Distribution. Mexico: Zacatecas State

Amphibolips kinseyi n. sp.

[Photos of this gall appear on page 44 of the pdf]

Gall (Fig. 16J). A relatively small, subglobose bud gall. The body of the gall reaches its greatest diameter near the middle, up to 20 mm in diameter. The gall is thick-walled, with lignified parenchyma, light brown when mature, with a smooth and naked surface; with spongious hard parenchyma internally; the hard-walled, ovate central larval chamber, with a mature length of 5.0–6.5 mm. 

Host. Quercus crassipes.

Biology. Only females are known. Mature galls were collected in December. 

Distribution. Mexico: Ciudad de Mexico. 

Remarks. This species was collected by Kinsey in 1932 and it was never described. Deposited in the Kinsey collection at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) as an ‘unidentified Amphibolips’. Characters are clearly differing from any other Amphibolips species (see diagnosis)

Revision of the Amphibolips species of the 'nassa' complex from Mexico and central America (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae)