Belonocnema treatae

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Belonocnema treatae
Belonocnema treatae galls.jpg
Asexual galls of Belonocnema treatae
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Cynipidae
Genus: Belonocnema
Species:
B. treatae
Binomial name
Belonocnema treatae
Ashmead, 1881
Synonyms
  • Dryorhizoxenus floridanusAshmead, 1881

Belonocnema treatae is a species of gall wasp that forms galls on Quercus virginiana and very rarely Querucs geminata. There are both asexual and sexual generations. The asexual generation forms galls on the underside of leaves whereas the sexual generation form galls on the roots. It can be found in the United States, where it is known from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina. [1] It, along with the other described Belonocnema species, have been used to study speciation. [2]

Contents

Taxonomy and phylogenetics

Belonocnema treatae was first described in 1881 by Gustav Leopold Mayr on the basis of sexual generation adults collected by noted naturalist Mary Treat. She collected the galls in Green Clove Spring, Florida, from root galls growing on Quercus virginiana. [1] Due to a printing error, the genus first appeared as Belenocnema until it was subsequently corrected. [3]

Later that same year, William Harris Ashmead described individuals from the same galls as Dryorhizoxenus floridanus, but later synonymized this name under Mayr's B. treatae in 1886. [1]

Genetic data places B. treatae as sister to B. fossoria . [1]

Description

The asexual generation galls are smooth, unilocular balls that appear on the ventral side of leaves. Young galls are orange or light brown and darken as they age. The sexual generation galls are irregular shaped, multilocular clusters of galls appearing on small rootlets. [1]

Belonocnema treatae can be distinguished from B. fossoria by the spur on the anterior side of fore tibia being shorter than the basitarsus and tibial spurs in both generations. It can be separated from B. kinseyi in the sexual generation by weakly delimited scutellar foveae separated broadly by a ridge and a distinctive areolet in the asexual generation. [1]

Distribution and biology

The distribution of Belonocnema treatae generally follows that of its main host plant, Quercus virginiana. However, a species turnover occurs in southeast Mississippi, where B. kinseyi replaces B. treatae for the remaining western range of Q. virginiana. [1]

Sexual-generation adults emerge from mid-March to end of April, corresponding with the timing of the leaf flush of Q. virginiana. [1]

Related Research Articles

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Neuroterus is a genus of gall wasps that induce galls on oaks in which the wasp larvae live and feed. Some species produce galls that fall off the host plant and 'jump' along the ground due to the movement of the larvae within.

<i>Galeopsomyia</i> Genus of wasps

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<i>Cynips quercusfolii</i> Gall wasp species in the genus Cynips

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<i>Andricus</i> Genus of wasps

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<i>Andricus quercuscalifornicus</i> Species of wasp

Andricus quercuscalifornicus, or the California gall wasp, is a small wasp species that induces oak apple galls on white oaks, primarily the valley oak but also other species such as Quercus berberidifolia. The California gall wasp is considered an ecosystem engineer, capable of manipulating the growth of galls for their own development. It is found from Washington, Oregon, and California to northern regions of Mexico. Often multiple wasps in different life stages occupy the same gall. The induced galls help establish complex insect communities, promoting the diversification in niche differentiation. Furthermore, the adaptive value of these galls could be attributed their ecological benefits such as nutrition, provision of microenvironment, and enemy avoidance.

<i>Acraspis</i> Genus of wasps

Acraspis is a genus of gall wasps in the family Cynipidae. The following species are recognised in the genus Acraspis:

Bassettia pallida is a species of gall wasp found in the Southern United States. This species was described by American entomologist William Harris Ashmead in 1896. B. pallida reproduces asexually in galls it induces on oak trees. The parasite Euderus set, a eulophid wasp, has B. pallida as a host and manipulates its behavior.

<i>Belonocnema</i> Genus of wasps

Belonocnema is a genus of oak gall wasps in the family Cynipidae, found in the United States from Texas, east to Florida. All species induce galls on section Virentes oaks and have both sexual and asexual generations. The asexual generation galls form as small balls on the underside of leaves, and the sexual galls form on roots. A number of inquiline, parasitoid, and hyperparasitoid wasp species have been reared from Belonocnema galls.

Andricus mukaigawae is a species of gall wasp native to southeastern Asia. It creates galls on the buds and leaves of oak trees. The galls are sometimes used by other gall wasps unable to create galls of their own, with both species sharing the gall.

Synergus japonicus is a species of gall wasp in the family Cynipidae. Whereas most gall wasps create the galls in which they live, Synergus japonicus is an inquiline species, living in the gall created by another species of wasp. It is native to Japan, China and Russia.

<i>Andricus quercuspetiolicola</i> Species of wasp

Andricus quercuspetiolicola, also called the oak petiole gall wasp, is a species of oak gall wasp in the family Cynipidae. Galls in which the larvae live and feed are formed along the midrib or petiole of white oak leaves.

<i>Philonix</i> Genus of wasps

Philonix is a genus of oak gall wasps in the family Cynipidae. Species in this genus are only known from Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The larvae of Philonix wasps induce galls on white oaks that are typically spherical, soft and fleshy. Galls are usually formed on the underside of leaves. Adult wasps are similar in appearance to species in the genus Acraspis. Many gall wasps have alternate sexual and asexual generations, but this has not been documented in Philonix.

<i>Disholcaspis quercusmamma</i> Species of wasp

Disholcaspis quercusmamma, the oak rough bulletgall wasp, is a species of gall wasp in the family Cynipidae. The quercus in its name is the genus name for oak, while "mamma" is Latin for "breast", presumably a reference to the "nipple" on the gall.

<i>Acraspis quercushirta</i> Species of wasp

Acraspis quercushirta, the jewel oak gall wasp, is a species of gall wasp in the family Cynipidae, tribe Cynipini, found in North America.

<i>Druon quercuslanigerum</i> Species of gall wasp

Druon quercuslanigerum is a species of gall wasp that forms galls on Quercus virginiana, Quercus geminata, Quercus fusiformis, and Quercus oleoides. There are both asexual and sexual generations. The asexual generation forms galls on the leaves whereas the sexual generation forms galls on the catkins. It can be found in the southern United States and Mexico. Predators of this species include the green parakeet.

Andricus hispanicus is a parthenogenetic species of wasp which causes the formation of marble galls on oak trees. The galls caused by the agamous generation are similar to the closely related Andricus kollari.

Neuroterus valhalla is a species of gall wasp from North America that forms galls on the Southern Live Oak. It was first discovered on the campus of Rice University.

<i>Belonocnema kinseyi</i> Species of gall wasp

Belonocnema kinseyi is a species of gall wasp that forms galls on Quercus virginiana and Quercus fusiformis. There are both asexual and sexual generations. The asexual generation forms galls on the underside of leaves whereas the sexual generation form galls on the roots. It can be found in the United States, where it is known from Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. It, along with the other described Belonocnema species, have been used to study speciation.

<i>Belonocnema fossoria</i> Species of gall wasp

Belonocnema fossoria is a species of gall wasp that forms galls on Quercus geminata. There are both asexual and sexual generations. The asexual generation forms galls on the underside of leaves whereas the sexual generation form galls on the roots. It can be found in the United States, where it is known from Georgia and Florida. It, along with the other described Belonocnema species, have been used to study speciation.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Zhang, Y Miles; Egan, Scott P; Driscoe, Amanda L; Ott, James R (2021-02-27). "One hundred and sixty years of taxonomic confusion resolved:Belonocnema(Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini) gall wasps associated with live oaks in the USA". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 193 (4): 1234–1255. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab001. ISSN   0024-4082.
  2. Zhang, Linyi; Hood, Glen Ray; Ott, James R; Egan, Scott P (2024-01-06). "The role of divergent host use and geography in the evolution of habitat isolation and sexual isolation among sister species of Belonocnema gall wasps". Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 37 (2): 248–255. doi:10.1093/jeb/voae005. ISSN   1420-9101.
  3. Melika, G.; Bechtold, M. (2001). "Taxonomic notes and type designations of gall inducing cynipid wasps described by G. Mayr (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Cynipidae)". Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien. Serie B für Botanik und Zoologie. 103: 327–339. ISSN   0255-0105.