Antron acraspiformis

Quercus toumeyi, subturbinella [turbinella]
Leaf galls
Detachable
Fig 169.

Diplolepis acraspiformis, new species

Host. — Quercus undulata and Quercus toumeyi.

Gall (fig. 30). — Globular, spiny, single on under side of leaf on midrib in fall, monothalamous, 7-10 mm. in diameter. The wall of the gall is half a millimeter thick, hard and crystalline, covered with yellow spines 2.5 mm. long with swollen bases half a millimeter in diameter which are pinkish in color and polygonal by mutual pressure in cross-section. When detached a rosette of single-celled short colorless hairs is found about the base of each spine. The exit hole, 1.2 mm. in diameter is in the side of the gall. It is similar in structure to some of the Acraspis galls in the east.

Habitat . — The type is selected from galls collected November 7, 1921, in Blue Canyon west of Socorro, N. Mex., the files being cut out of the galls a few days later. Paratypes are from Nogal Canyon south of Socorro, the flies emerging December 31 and January 13. Other paratypes are from Hackberry, Ariz., the flies having emerged and died before February 14. All the above were on Q. undulata. One paratype is from Q, toumeyi, Patagonia, Ariz., the fly emerging December 31. Galls were seen on Q. undulata at Ashfork, Ariz., also and in the Burro Mountains, N. Mex.

Antron acraspiformis
(Cynips acraspiformis)*
Porcupine-gall wasp

Hosts: Quercus toumeyi, turbinella

Galls occur one per leaf on the midrib and measure 5-10 mm in diameter.

Cynips villosa variety acraspiformis
agamic form

Diplolepis acraspiformis

GALL. — Rosy red to rosy brown in color; up to 10.0 mm., averaging nearer 7.5 mm. in diameter, the spines up to 2.5 mm. in length, stiff, straight, stout, the bases up to 0.5 mm. in diameter, tapering rather gradually; the whole suggesting a sea urchin; on the leaves of Quercus undulata, Q. Toumeyi, Q. grisea, and Q. arizonica. Figures 304, 330.

RANGE. — New Mexico: Blue Canyon west of Socorro (types, Weld coll.). Nogal Canyon south of Socorro (acc. Weld 1926). Kingston (Kinsey coll.). Hillsboro (galls, Kinsey coll.). Burro Mountains (galls, acc. Weld 1926). Arizona: Ashfork (galls, acc. Weld 1926). Prescott (Kinsey coll.; also W. W. Jones in Kinsey coll.). Safford (Kinsey coll.). Hackberry and Patagonia (acc. Weld 1926). Probably confined to the southern two-thirds of Arizona and New Mexico (and adjacent Mexico). Figure 59.

This variety has a wide range over the southern two-thirds of New Mexico and Arizona, and shows no segregation into distinct varieties on Q. undulata, Q. grisea, Q. arizonica, or Q. Toumeyi.

Weld cut live adults out of galls collected near Socorro, New Mexico, on November 7 (in 1921), and had others emerge December 31 and January 13. One adult from Patagonia, Arizona, emerged December 13. From galls which I collected in Arizona at Safford on January 18 and at Prescott on January 23 (in 1920) all but the last adults had already emerged. The galls Mr. W. W. Jones collected in March (1924) were empty.

The original spelling of the name of this variety should have been acraspidiformis, if we are to follow the declension of the Latin aspis, aspidis; but as the Rules stand, we accept the published spelling.