The oak gall wasps of Israel (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae, Cynipini) - diversity, distribution and life history
Author
Shachar, Einat
Author
Melika, George
Author
Inbar, Moshe
Author
Dorchin, Netta
text
Zootaxa
2018
2018-11-16
4521
4
451
498
journal article
27950
10.11646/zootaxa.4521.4.1
832ac35c-8871-4041-9321-ea7f2ae5eb41
1175-5326
2610021
A4FD6137-25B0-43D5-845B-B4FDF4E9F5D7
Plagiotrochus razeti
Barbotin, 1985
Host plants.
Israel
:
Q. calliprinos
.
Elsewhere:
Q. ilex
.
Life history.
Both the sexual and asexual generations are known but in
Israel
only the branch galls of the asexual generation were found. These constitute
10–35 mm
long globular to elongate, multi-chambered swellings of the branch (
Fig. 73
). The larval chambers are arranged in a circle around at the gall circumference. The sexual generation induces single-chambered galls in lateral and terminal buds and in catkins, sometimes in aggregations.
Phenology.
In
Iberia
, galls of the asexual generation develop in summer and adults emerge from them in December-January. Galls of the sexual generation develop in May and adults emerge at the end of that month (
Nieves-Aldrey 2001
).
Distribution.
Israel
: Pa’ar cave, Tivo'n, Mt. Carmel. Elsewhere: Iberian Peninsula,
France
.
Comments.
The three females we reared from galls of the asexual generation run to
P. razeti
in available keys (
Nieves-Aldrey 2001
) and their comparison to voucher specimens of
P. razeti
from
Iberia
, deposited in the PHMB, suggested that they belong to that species. Galls of the asexual generation resemble those of
Plagiotrochus gallaeramulorum
from Europe but the larval chambers in the latter are arranged along the longitudinal axis of the gall rather than radially. Sternlicht attributed these galls to the asexual generation of
Plagiotrichus kiefferianus
, a species that was since synonymized with
Plagiotrochus gallaeramulorum
(
Pujade-Villar 2005
)
. We consider this species to be distinct from
Plagiotrichus
gallaeramulorum
due to the different structure of the galls.