Andricus kingi

Small, pink, cone-shaped galls on the underside of leaves of Quercus lobata, about 5mm. high and 4 mm. across the base, which is broad and rather saucer-shaped. The outer portion of the gall is conical, the sides curved inwards slightly. The larval chamber is near the apex, where the exit hole is found.

Andricus kingi

Quercus douglasii, lobata
Leaf galls, detachable
Fig 144. Red or striped, on the upper or lower surface of the leaf in numbers in August and September, cell basal.

Fig 144. On Q lobata. Occurs on Q douglasii also Red or striped, on upper or lower surface of leaf in numbers in August and September. Drop in November. Adults were cut out Nov.22 (Middletown), emerged Feb. 9 (Chico).

Andricus kingi n. sp.

Gall. — A broad, ovate, saucer-shaped base terminating in a small, slender cone with incurved sides. The point of the cone is open down to the flattened larval cell which lies close to the base of the gall. The surface is closely pubescent and of a smoky gray color. They are about one-'fourth* of an inch long and one-fifth in diameter across the widest part of the base or rim of the saucer. The leaves to which they are attached are those of Q. alba, I think.

Gall-flies. — Two females bred from galls sent me by Mr. E. H. King, of Napa City, Cal.

Status of Liodora dumosae and Andricus kingi

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.

Andricus kingi

The red, monothalamous, detachable, cone-shaped galls occur on both sides of the leaves of blue, valley, and Oregon oaks. The apex of the gall, although pointed, is blunt-tipped.

Hosts:
Quercus douglasii
Quercus lobata
Quercus garryana

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

Galls. The asexual gall (Fig. 240) is red, monolocular, detachable, cone-shaped on both sides of the leaves, 5 mm high and 3–5 mm broad at the base. The cone rises from a flared, cup-shaped base, which is narrowly attached to the leaf. The apex of the gall is pointed, with a blunt tip. The gall is covered by fine pubescence; the larval chamber is large, occupying the most of the gall base. Occurs singly or in groups, up to dozens (Russo 2006, 2021).

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.