48 



Indiana University Studies 



37. Felt, 1918, N.Y. Mus. Bull., 200, p. 71 (in part). Weld, 1921, 

 Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., LIX, p. 234. 



The gall described and figured in these references is not the gall of 

 this species. 



FEMALE. — Differs from the female of the other variety as follows: 

 Head lighter brownish rufous; thorax bright brownish rufous, slightly 

 darker on the scutellum and the sides; anterior parallel lines very fine, 

 not prominent but distinct; abdomen brownish rufous, brown black 

 posteriorly; legs brownish yellow, the middle and the hind tibiae darker 

 brown; shading on wings moderately heavy, largely confined closely to 

 the veins. 



GALL. — None, or a slight stem swelling; the larval cells embedded 

 in the wood, quite as in the other variety. On Quercus chrysolepis. 



RANGE.— California: Mt. Diablo (Ashmead) ; Placerville. Prob- 

 ably confined to more northerly localities where Q. chrysolepis occurs. 



TYPES. — Females and galls at the U. S. National Museum; labelled 

 number 3085. From California, probably Mt. Diablo, rather than Mar- 

 tinez, for chrysolepis is not likely to be found at Martinez. 



The redescription of the insect is made from adults col- 

 lected at Placerville. I am not certain that Mt. Diablo and 

 Placerville belong to one faunal area, but I do not now per- 

 ceive differences between Ashmead types and my Placerville 

 material. 



In the original description Ashmead stated that 'The gall of 

 this species was likewise confused in the collection with a simi- 

 lar gall (Andricus chrysolepidis) , occurring on Q. chrysolepis 

 in California, but I can distinguish two kinds of galls, al- 

 though both bear the same number (2972). Both are very 

 much alike externally, but one is polythalamous, the other 

 monothalamous, and I believe the latter is the one producing 

 the present gallfly." He then records having received galls 

 from Mount Diablo and Martinez, but does not state which 

 he thought gave the Compsodryoxenus , or whether both lots 

 appeared to be involved. I have seen a paratype gall, and 

 find it a globular, woody, monothalamous gall entirely unlike 

 the gall of any of the six other forms now known from this 

 genus. Its monothalamous nature especially rules it out of 

 this genus. I have cut adults of both varieties of the species 

 from cells buried in twigs which showed little if any deforma- 

 tion, and have obtained a goodly number of insects from such 

 cells collected at two separated localities. Undoubtedly 

 Ashmead's insects came from cells hidden in the twigs of 

 stems which bore galls of some other species. 



