Belonocnema treatae

Mayr, 1881

Belonocnema treatae is a cynipid gall wasp associated with live oaks in the southeastern United States. It exhibits an alternating sexual and , with each generation forming distinct gall types on different parts of the plant. The species has served as a model organism for studies of speciation and ecological interactions. It was first described by Gustav Leopold Mayr in 1881 based on specimens collected by naturalist Mary Treat in Florida.

Belonocnema treatae by (c) Rusty, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Rusty. Used under a CC-BY license.

Belonocnema treatae galls by Katja Schulz. Used under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Belonocnema treatae: /ˌbɛloʊnəˈniːmə ˈtriːtaɪ/

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Identification

Distinguished from B. fossoria by the shorter fore tibial spur relative to basitarsus length in both . Separated from B. kinseyi in the sexual generation by weakly delimited scutellar foveae broadly separated by a ridge, and in the generation by a distinctive areolet. turnover with B. kinseyi occurs in southeast Mississippi, where B. kinseyi replaces B. treatae in the western range of Quercus virginiana.

Images

Habitat

supporting live oaks (Quercus virginiana), primarily coastal and maritime forests, sandhills, and other oak-dominated in the southeastern United States.

Distribution

United States: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Distribution generally follows that of its main plant, Quercus virginiana, with eastern range limit at the Mississippi-Alabama border region.

Seasonality

Sexual- emerge from mid-March to end of April, coinciding with the leaf flush of Quercus virginiana.

Host Associations

Quercus virginiana - primary Main plant for both
Quercus geminata - rare Very rarely used

Life Cycle

Alternating sexual and . Sexual generation forms multilocular root galls; asexual generation forms unilocular leaf galls on the underside of leaves. Sexual-generation emerge mid-March to late April.

Ecological Role

Gall formation induces structural changes in oak tissues. Serves as host for complex including (Eurytomidae, Torymidae, Ormyridae, Pteromalidae), hyperparasitoids (Pteromalidae, Eupelmidae, Encyrtidae), and (Eurytomidae), supporting at least three .

Human Relevance

Used as a model organism in ecological and evolutionary studies, particularly for research on speciation. Historical taxonomic confusion within the was resolved in 2021, clarifying boundaries for future research applications.

Similar Taxa

Belonocnema fossoriaOverlapping distribution and range; distinguished by longer fore tibial spur relative to basitarsus
Belonocnema kinseyiReplaces B. treatae west of southeast Mississippi; distinguished by scutellar foveae structure in sexual and areolet differences in generation

Misconceptions

The was originally printed as 'Belenocnema' due to a printing error in Mayr's 1881 description, later corrected to Belonocnema. William Harris Ashmead's 1881 description of Dryorhizoxenus floridanus from the same galls was synonymized under B. treatae in 1886.

More Details

Taxonomic history

First described by Gustav Leopold Mayr in 1881 from sexual collected by Mary Treat at Green Clove Spring, Florida. The specific epithet treatae honors collector Mary Treat.

Phylogenetic position

Genetic data places B. treatae as sister to B. fossoria. Mitonuclear discordance results in failure of mitochondrial barcode region (COI) to distinguish B. treatae from B. fossoria, despite clear separation based on and nuclear SNP data.