Andricus dimorphus

Andricus dimorphus
Andricus dimorphus galls on bur oak
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Cynipidae
Genus:	Andricus
Species:	A. dimorphus
Binomial name
Andricus dimorphus (Beutenmuller, 1913)
Synonyms
Cynips dimorphus Adleria dimorpha

Andricus dimorphus, also called the clustered midrib gall wasp, is a species of oak gall wasp in the family Cynipidae. Galls in which the larvae live and feed are formed in clusters along the midrib on the underside of oak leaves.[1]

Range

This species has been found throughout central and eastern North America where its host species occur.[1][2][3]

Description

Confirmed hosts of the clustered midrib gall wasp are white oak species, including Quercus macrocarpa, Q. alba, Q. prinoides, and Q. bicolor.[1][2] Clusters of up to 50 globular (but with a pointed base), red-brown galls are formed along the midrib on the underside of leaves beginning in late summer.[1][2][3] The galls readily detach from the leaf, particularly when mature.[1][2][3] Adults emerge from the galls the following year.[2][3] Inquilines and parasitoids may inhabit the galls.[4]

Taxonomy

This species was first described by William Beutenmuller in 1913 with the name Cynips dimorphus.[2] According to Clarence Gillette, William Ashmead had already used this name by 1889 for a species that produces galls similar to those of Beutenmuller's Cynips dimorphus.[5] This species was later transferred to the genus Adleria which itself was subsequently included within Andricus.[6]

References

1. Weld, L. Hart. (1959). Cynipid galls of the Eastern United States. Ann Arbor, Mich.
2. Beutenmuller, William (1913). "Descriptions of new Cynipidae". Transactions of the American Entomological Society. 39: 243–248.
3. Gillette, C.P. (1890). "The gall-producing Cynipidae of Iowa". Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Sciences. 1: 110–114.
4. Ward, Anna K. G.; Sheikh, Sofia I.; Forbes, Andrew A. (2020-11-01). "Diversity, Host Ranges, and Potential Drivers of Speciation Among the Inquiline Enemies of Oak Gall Wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae)". Insect Systematics and Diversity. 4 (6). doi:10.1093/isd/ixaa017.
5. Gillette, C. P. (1889). "Notes on Certain Cynipidae With Descriptions of New Species". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology. 5 (156): 183–188. doi:10.1155/1889/26024.
6. Melika, G. & Abrahamson, W.G. (2002) Review of the World Genera of Oak Cynipid Wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini). In: Melika, G. & Thuróczy, C. (Eds.), Parasitic Wasps: Evolution, Systematics, Biodiversity and Biolog-ical Control. International Symposium: “Parasitic Hymenoptera: Taxonomy and Biological Control” (14–17 May 2001, Kõszeg, Hungary). Agroinform, Budapest, pp. 150–190.