Andricus kingi

Galls of L. dumosae (Fig. 1 e) [a misidentification; these were then-undescribed wasps] were collected at Thornton, San Joaquin County, May 11, 1967. Males and females emerging from them at the time were placed on 3 caged seedlings of Q. lobata. By September, galls of A. kingi had developed on the leaves of one of these trees (Fig. 1 f). L. dumosae also is known to occur on Q. douglasii and Q. garryana Douglas (Weld 1957b). A. kingi has been found on Q. douglasii and one would expect that it will eventually be found also on Q. garryana.

Status of Liodora dumosae Weld, 1957, and Andricus kingi Bassett, 1900

After some rearing experiments which yielded bisexual adults from galls identified as Liodora dumosae, Rosenthal and Koehler (1971) reached the conclusion that dumosae and Andricus kingi Bassett, 1900, were the alternate generations of a single species. Dailey has examined the material of Rosenthal and Koehler’s study (CIS) and found that they misidentified their wasp. The specimens are not dumosae, but are the previously unknown bisexual generation of kingi. The complete scutal notauli and short, straight tip of the galls distinguish the sexual form of kingi from that of dumosae. Evans’ (1972) rearing studies indicated that Liodora dumosae and Andricus pattersonae Fullaway, 1911, were the alternate generations of one species. He transferred pattersonae to the genus Liodora. Some of Evans’ paratypes (CAS) have been compared with Weld’s paratypes (USNM), and they are the same species.

Feron kingi (Bassett, 1900), comb. nov.

Galls. The sexual gall (Fig. 239) is small, 2–3 mm, conical gall on the leaf margin and/or catkin, slightly pubescent. Fresh galls are pinkish to pale brown, turn dark purple-black when mature, the leaf blade twists slightly at the gall. The gall is difficult to distinguish from similar sexual galls of F. comatum, F. crystallinum and F. dumosae.

Biology. Liodora dumosae was erroneously named as the sexual generation of A. kingi (Rosenthal 1968; Rosenthal & Koehler 1971, Burks 1979), but subsequent detailed examination of the type material showed that L. dumosae is a distinct species and Rosenthal’s material represented the previously unknown and undescribed sexual generation of A. kingi (Dailey & Menke 1980; our examinations); herein we formally describe sexual A. kingi for the first time. Alternate sexual and asexual generations are also confirmed herein on the basis of similarity in cytb sequence data. Four individuals (two asexual females, one sexual female, one sexual male) had cytb sequences that were on average 0.23% divergent (range 0–0.47%; GenBank accessions OK041496, OQ446201–OQ446203).

Asexual galls have been collected from Q. douglasii, Q. dumosa, Q. garryana, and Q. lobata (section Quercus, subsection Dumosae) in late September and October; adults emerge early the following spring (Burks 1979). Mature sexual galls have been collected in late March and the beginning of April from Q. berberidifolia, Q. douglasii, and Q. lobata (section Quercus, subsection Dumosae); adults emerge soon after under laboratory conditions.

Distribution. USA: California.