Alfred Charles Kinsey

“ Thorax: Entirely black; mesothorax smooth, shining, naked of hairs, entirely without the usual grooves and lines; scutellum smooth, shining, naked, with a smooth, arcuate furrow at the base; pronotum smooth, very finely punctate and hairy at the sides, not very evidently so; mesopleuræ practically smooth, shining and naked. Abdomen: Black, piceous ventro-apically; smooth, naked; usually protruding as far or farther ventrally than dorsally, as high or higher than long. Legs: Black (piceous in small individuals) , light piceous yellow at the joints and on the tarsi, tips of tarsi dark ”

“ WINGS: Large, extending more than half beyond the abdomen; finely set with hairs, margins ciliate; veins light brown, cross-veins and subcosta darker; areolet moderate in size; cubitus faint, reaching the basalis at the mid-point, but hardly evident there; radial cell open; second abscissa of the radius almost straight, the first abscissa slightly arcuate without a projection. Length: 1.7–2.2 mm. Galls (Pl. XXIV, Fig. 2) .—Sticky cells protruding from buds. Each cell is monothalamous, about 2×3 mm., oval, but with rather flattened ends ”

“ It has, however, been difficult to obtain the wasp, apparently because the larval cells fall out of the twigs before maturity; possibly the insect completes development and emerges only after it has been on the ground for some tinme. ”

“ Abdomen: Piceous black; smooth and shining, microscopically punctate, sparingly hairy at the base laterally; produced dorsally, the second segment covering about half the area, segments two to four with the edges at an angle of 45°; ventral spine short, lighter in color, sparsely hairy; ventral valves hairy, at a 45° angle. Legs: Yellow-brown, the coxæ piceous, the tips of tarsi brown; tarsal claws simple. Wings: Clear, minutely hairy, ciliate on margin; veins brown, subcosta, radius, and basalis heavy; areolet moderately small; cubitus hardly reaching basalis ”

“ Though the galls of the two cynipids closely resemble each other, the insects are not similar, exhibiting what will be interpreted as generic differences when Andricus is subdivided. In several respects, such as the median depression of the scutellum, this species shows rel tions to Andricus pomiformis (Bassett) . Adults emerged from galls at Placerville, California on March 30; but it is likely that there is an earlier emergence date for more southern material. The gall is prominent and very abundant wherever I have seen Quercus chrysolepis. ”

“ Length: 3.7-4.7 mm.
Galls (Pl. XXIV, Figs. 11, 12) .-Elongate stem swellings. Polythalamous. Large, elongate, oval to spindle-shaped, averaging 2.5 cm. wide by 5.0 cm. long; large specimens of scarcely greater diameter will reach 11.0 cm. in length; covered with bark of natural color. Internally hard and woody, only the peripheral tissue being less compact than the normal stem wood; larval cells toward the center of the gall, oval, 3. by 5. mm., tissue almost not at all distinct from rest of wood; exit holes upon aging show a distinct, smoother area on the bark. ”

“ The galls of this species resemble those of Neuroterus pallidus Bassett of the eastern United States, but in that species the clusters are borne at the ends of the aments instead of sessile on the young twig, distorting the whole ament.
Andricus spectabilis, new species
Plate XXIV, Figures 11 and 12
Female. Head and thorax black; densely hairy; abdomen rufous; areolet very large, cubitus not continuous; average length 4.5 mm. Head: Dark piceous to black, mandibles rufous; about as broad as thorax, broadened behind eyes ”

“ This is a very common cynipid throughout the Pacific Coast region, its presence being made noticeable because the leading shoots and ultimately the whole tree may be killed. I have seen small stands of young black oaks, possibly fifteen years old, almost completely killed out in this way. ”

“ Male.–Differs from the female as follows: antennæ entirely brown, 15-jointed; thorax more elongate; abdomen very small, narrow, rather long-pedicellate; legs darker brown. Galls (Pl. XXIV, Figs. 15, 16) .—Small, inflated capsules in the leaf-blade. Monothalamous. Spherical, 3.–5. mm. in diameter, about smooth, leaf-green when fresh, soon paling, finally drying yellow-brown. Walls thin, a thin-walled larval cell, about 1.5 mm. in diameter, is connected with the outside wall by a tangle of dense, but not definitely branched fibers. ”

“ Head: Not as broad as the thorax, considerably broadened behind the eyes; deep rufous, piceous black at the mouth and on the mouth-parts; rugoso-coriaceous, a rugose area between the ocelli, face more rugose, (hairy?) ”