Philonyx fulvicollis Smith, 1910, Ins. N. J., p. 598.
Female.—Almost wingless; antenæ black, basal joints rufous; parapsidal grooves not quite reaching the pronotum; thorax densely hairy anteriorly and on the mesopleurwe; abdomen large, considerably elongate. Head: black, with a more or less large amount of rufous around the compound eyes and on the mouth-parts; rather finely rugose, more rugose toward the vertex and toward the mouth-parts; hairy; ant nnoe 14-jointed, black, basal joints rufous. Thorax: mesonotum rufous, coriaceous or very finely rugose, very hairy anteriorly; parapsidal grooves indistinct, not quite extending to the pronotum, gradually convergent toward the scutellum; median groove very short but distinct; anterior parallel lines essentially absent; lateral grooves present, not deep; scutellum rufous, blackish basally, hairy, rugose, long and narrow, with a short, projecting spine terminally, the two, shallow, narrow fove. at the base only finely separated; pronotum rugose, black, more or less rufous laterally, densely hairy; mesopleural black, aciculate to rugose, densely hairy. Abdomen: large, considerably elongate, piceous black, with more or less rufous, especially basally and terminally, hairy on the sides ventrally, densely hairy at the tip of the hypopygium and at the tip of the abdomen; second segment not quite one-half the total abdominal length. Legs: rufous, hairy, irregularly darker in places; tarsal claws large, toothed. WINGS: rudimeptary, not twice the length of the scutellum. Length: 1.5-3.0 mm.
[Redescribed from Bassett material from Ohio and Connecticut.]
Galls.—Oval leaf-galls (Fig. 34), densely covered with fine spines, reddish purple. The galls are globular or more often oval, 10×14 mm., more or less, the surface light yellowish, closely set with small, raised points, each tipped with a slender, thread like, flexuous spine 2 or 3 mm. long, yellowish, reddish purple, or blackish in color. Within, the tissue is compact-granular, the larval cells usually two or three (two to eight), each measuring about 1.5×2.0 mm., the cells distinct but inseparable. Attached by a single point to a main-vein, on the upper or under surfaces of leaves of Quercus alba.
Types.—Fitch's type "fulvicollis" is in the United States National Museum; the cotypes "erinacei," adults and galls, in The American Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Comparative Zoology, and in the collection of Mr. William Beutenmiler.
Beutenmiüler is authority for the identity of erinacei and fulvicollis. This gall appears in late June, becoming mature about the last of August, staying on the trees into October. The insects emerge from November 5 to 21, or even in early December, often when the weather is very cold, and snow is on the ground. The insect oviposits in the young buds of the oak trees. Fuller details of the habits of this species are given in Triggerson's paper.
In addition to the above data, studies of Amphibolips confluens (Harris)[1] and of a couple of species of Neuroterus have been reported, but I feel that the information is not sufficiently complete to warrant reporting life histories of those species until further studies have been made.
- ↑ See Walsh, 1864, Proc. Ent. Soc. Phila., II, pp. 443-500.
