Andricus tamaulipensis, nom. nov.

Disholcaspis mexicana
Holcaspis mexicana

[A photo of the galls of this species appears on page 3 of the pdf. They do not closely resemble Beutenmuller's figure.]

[The galls of A tamaulipensis are unmistakable. They are more or less circular, very hard, larval chamber single and eccentric placed closer to the base of the gall and surrounded by a lignified tissue. Beutenmuller (1911) mentions that they form clusters but in Tamaulipas they have been collected only alone or in clusters of 2-3 galls, sometimes fused. Unfortunately the galls that were used for the description of Holcaspis mexicana Beutenmuller have not been found.

Finally, the Kinsey specimens mentioned above were collected from oaks in the section Quercus while our specimens have been obtained from galls collected on the section Lobatae. This fact supports even more strongly the possibility that Kinsey's specimens do not correspond to the species mentioned earlier. Quercus rysophylla Weath is the first host known for A tamaulipensis. This finding can't be attributed to a misidentification of the oak since in El Madroño only two species of oak are found: Q rysophylla and Q laurina, both in the section Lobatae. The genus Andricus produces mainly galls on the section Quercus but a small group of species forms them on the section Lobatae, see Pujade-Villar et al (2009) for those species in Mexico. Possibly, the species that produce galls on the section Lobatae are misplaced in Andricus but to be more precise will require additional morphological studies.

- Juli Pujade-Villar: (2017) Andricus tamaulipensis Pujade-Villar nom. nov. para Disholcaspis mexicana (Beutenmüller, 1911) (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae)^©