Cynips quercus fuliginosa n. sp.

Galls on the willow oak--Quercus laurifoliae

Gall.--Brown, mottled, globular galls, .35 inch in diameter, hard, of a fine corky texture with a central kernel.

Amphibolips fuliginosa

Quercus laurifolia, myrtifolia, phellos
Acorn galls
A plum gall on side of acorn cup, 7-10 mm in dia, dropping when mature (before October).

[Photo caption (no photo)]
Q phellos, laurifolia, myrtifolia. A plum gall, 7-10 mm in dia, dropping in Aug. Only rearing record May 1.

Amphibolips fuliginosa

Globose, smooth, corky, reddish brown twig or acorn gall, with a large central cell, diameter 8 to 12 mm, on Q laurifolia.

Globose, small, red, smooth, corky, probably acorn galls, diameter 8 to 12 mm, on Q laurifolia.

[Felt reproduces Beutenmuller's figures]

Amphibolips fuliginosa

The galls of this species were described as dropping from trees of Q laurifolia in August. The type flies were found dead in a box of galls put away four years earlier, so date of emergence was not known. The type locality is Jacksonville, Florida. The writer has collected galls on Q. phellos as well as on Q. laurifolia and at the following places: Jacksonville, Live Oak, Lake City, River Junction, Tallahassee, Carrabelle, Gainesville, Ocala, Clearwater, and Daytona, in Florida ; Savannah, Georgia ; Poplar Bluff, Missouri ; and Rosslyn, Virginia. A pupa was found inside a gall on October 22 and an adult December 1. An adult emerged in breeding cage May 1. Transformation takes place in fall and the flies remain in the galls during the winter to emerge the next spring.

Amphibolips fuliginosa

A small red gall measuring from 8 to 12 mm. in diameter. It is rounded or spherical, smooth, and of a corky texture, with a central larval cell. Dr. W. H. Ashmead states that the galls drop from large trees of willow oaks (Q. laurifolia) in August and that he was unable to find out whether they grow on the twigs or leaves. I am of the opinion that it is an acorn gall, growing on the cup, owing to the resemblance of the adult and structure of the gall to that of A. prunus.

Habitat: Florida.

Amphibolips fuliginosa

Cynips quercus fuliginosa

Gall. On the twigs or possibly on the acorns of willow oak (Quercus laurifolia) in August. Rounded or spherical, smooth, and of a corky texture, with a central larval cell. Reddish brown and rather hard when dry. Diameter 8 to 12 mm.

The gall has the appearance of a miniature gall of Amphibolips prunus [quercusjuglans] and is similar in structure. WH Ashmead states that the galls drop from large trees in August and that he was unable to find out whether they grow on the twigs or leaves. I am of the opinion that it is an acorn gall owing to the resemblance of the adult and structure of the gall to that of A prunus.

Habitat: GA, FL

Amphibolips quercusfuliginosa (Ashmead 1885)

Hosts: Quercus myrtifolia

[Asexual generation acorn cup gall found in Florida in the fall.]