Besbicus multipunctatus

Quercus douglasii
Leaf galls, detachable
On midrib below, wall thick, cell eccentric, supported by fibers. 4-10 mm. Similar in appearance to Fig 107.

[Undescribed]

Quercus dumosa
Leaf galls, detachable
Spherical, 5.6 mm in dia, wall thick, central cell supported by coarse fibers. Single. On under side of leaf. Fig 107.

Fig 107. Single on under side of leaf. Q, dumosa. Wall thick, larval cell is central, supported by short fibers. Adult probably emerged in fall.

Besbicus multipunctatus
*Cynips multipunctatus

This cynipid wasp induces round, hairy, monothalamous galls on the ventral midrib of leaves of blue oak.

Host:
Quercus douglasii

Recent molecular analyses (Nicholls et al. 2017, Medianero et al. 2021) as well as the analysis presented in this study (with better sampling of taxa from Kinsey’s “Cynips” sensu lato) have shown that the synonymisation of Besbicus within Cynips was incorrect. As with other Nearctic lineages from Kinsey’s “Cynips” complex, species formerly in Besbicus do not cluster with the true European Cynips (Fig. 1). Besbicus is nested within the same clade as most of Kinsey’s Nearctic “Cynips” lineages, is sister to Philonix but distinct from morphologically similar lineages such as Antron, Nubilantron and Atrusca (Fig. 1). Hence, we formally re-establish the genus name Besbicus Kinsey, 1930 comb. rev., including the eight species recognised by Weld: B. conspicuus (Kinsey, 1930) comb. rev., B. heldae (Fullaway, 1911) comb. rev., B. indictus (Kinsey, 1930) comb. rev., B. leachii (Kinsey, 1930) comb. rev., B. maculosus (Weld, 1926) comb. rev., B. mirabilis (Kinsey, 1922) comb. rev., B. multipunctatus (Beutenmueller, 1911) comb. rev. and B. tritior (Kinsey, 1930) comb. rev..

Cynips multipunctata var multipunctata
agamic form

Dryophanta multipunctata

Gall. Indistinguishable from that of variety indicta, unless aver- aging larger. Green when young, becoming light and then dirty gray in color; appearing finely pubescent, in reality microscopically set with fine papillae and narrow, reticulated ridges, with only a scant pubescence of stellate and longer hairs, these wearing off in time; internally with finer, more silky, less compacted fibers between the outside wall and the larval cell, the cell in consequence easily broken from its position ; occurring singly, rarely in small, not compacted clusters, fastened to the veins, on the under surfaces of leaves of Quercus Douglasii. Figures 203-204.

RANGE. — California: Kern County (types in U.S. Nat. Mus.). Diablo and Napa (F. A. Leach in Kinsey coll.). Probably thruout the more southern range of Q. Douglasii. Figure 31.

This variety is restricted to the blue oak, Q. Douglasii, and has thus far been found only on the leaves. Beutenmuller’s original host record was a “species of oak/’ changed in his revision of the genus to “a species of white oak.” Without further data, Felt took this to mean Q. lobata, and McCracken and Egbert give this as the only host. The leaf with the type gall is, however, distinctly that of Q. Douglasii, and I have never seen specimens from any other oak and feel sure that the lobata records are unfounded. Leach collected galls in the latter half of July at Diablo. All of the galls collected after the first week in December have shown the emergence holes of the gall maker, and have never given me further adults. It is, however, to be questioned whether emergence is normally as early as this since the other varieties of the species emerge later in December and in January. The holotype female of multipunctata at the U.S. National Museum is a small, broken, and not deeply pigmented specimen that looks as if it might have been cut from an old gall. It is smaller, with the body lighter in color and the wings less heavily spotted than specimens I have from Diablo ; but these differences might well be due to the immature character of the holotype female, and certainly it is closer to the Diablo material than to indicta, the other variety known from Q. Douglasii.

Cynips multipunctata var indicta, new variety

Gall. Indistinguishable from that of variety multipunctata (q.v.), unless averaging smaller; mature galls becoming light and then dirty gray in color; internally with rather fine, silky fibers; on the under sur- faces of leaves of Quercus Douglasii. Figures 198, 201-202.

RANGE. — California: South Cow Creek in Shasta County, and Inskip (galls, F. A. Leach in Kinsey coll.). Redding (Kinsey coll, and F. A. Leach in Kinsey coll.). Battle Creek at 2000 ft. (F. A. Leach in Kinsey coll.). Colfax (E. R. Leach in Kinsey coll.). Kelseyville (types, P. Schulthess in Kinsey coll.). 7 miles southeast of Kelseyville; Lower Lake (D. Hildebrand in Kinsey coll.). Cobb Mountain and the south side of Bartlett Mountain in Lake County (P. Schulthess in Kinsey coll.).

Probably thruout the more northern range, or the altitudinally higher range of Q. Douglasii. Figure 31.

This is the more northern variety on the blue oak, Q. Douglasii. The gall is hardly distinguishable from that of multipunctata, the more southern variety on the same oak, but the insect is quite distinct. The material from Kelseyville and points north of there is typical indicta; the material from seven miles south of Kelseyville and from other points in the southern portion of Lake County is intermediate between indicta and multipunctata, and not determinable as one or the other variety. The material from Napa County clearly represents variety multipunctata. Miss Schulthess, who collected the type material, found full-sized but not yet fully developed galls as early as July 15 (1925 at Kelseyville) . Mr. Leach has collected more mature galls at later dates in July, but none of the collections made before the first of September contained larvae large enough to be bred. I have bred adults (out-of-doors at Bloomington, Indiana) on December 23 and January 8, 12, and 20, and still later in January (1926-28). From one lot of 52 galls, 7 contained gall makers, and all the others were parasitized.