Tenthredo (Eurogaster) virescens ( Jakowlew, 1887 ) Jakowlew, 1887

Taeger, Andreas & Viitasaari, Matti, 2015, European Rhogogaster s. str., with notes on several Asian species (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae), Zootaxa 4013 (3), pp. 369-398 : 383-385

Tenthredo (Eurogaster) virescens ( Jakowlew, 1887) , comb. nov.

( Figs 1 g, 4w)

Sciapteryx virescens Jakowlew, 1887: 163 –164. Lectotype ♀ hereby designated (ZIRAS, http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/ m9.figshare.878068). Type locality: Tibet: Burchan-Budda, 14.000 ft. (= China: Qinghai: Burhan Budai Shan, N 35.833° E 97.167°).

Rhogogaster virescens: Konow (1905)

Discussion. The species was described based on 1♀ and 2♂ (http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.1348292). The female is hereby designated as lectotype, the two males as paralectotypes. The species is morphologically similar to Tenthredo (Eurogaster) aaliensis ( Strand, 1898) , the type species of Eurogaster Zirngiebl, 1953 . Tenthredo aaliensis is currently considered to be a very variable species, with paler forms in the eastern Palearctic. It is possible that virescens represents a very pale form of this species.

7. Geoffroy (1762 p. 271–272) “T E N T H R E D O viridis , capite thoraceque supra caracteribus nigris. La lettre hebraique verte. Longueur 5 lignes. Largeur 1 ½ ligne. Cette mouche-à-scie est toute verte en-dessous. Ses antennes & ses yeux sont noirs. Sur sa tête, entre ses yeux, il y a deux cercles noirs adossés & qui se touchent, sur lesquels sont placés les trois petits yeux lisses de pareille couleur. Le corcelet a dans son milieu en-dessus une ligne noire longitudinale irréguliere, & deux raies obliques de même couleur de chaque côté. Le dessus du ventre a une bande noire longitudinale qui règne tout du long dans son milieu. Les pattes ont quelques filets noirs & les bords des anneaux des tarses sont teints de cette même couleur. Les aîles qui font transparentes ont des veines noires, & leur bord extérieur plus épais que le reste de l'aile est vert. Cette belle mouche-à-scie n'est pas des plus communes, elle se trouve sur les fleurs. N.B. Il y en a une variété dont le ventre est tout note én-dessus, & dans laquelle les taches noires de la tête & du corcelet font plus grandes. Ses pattes sont aussi presque toutes noires & très-peu panachées de vert. Elle est un peu plus petite.”

Tenthredo interrupta Fabricius, 1804: 40 .

Lectotype ♀ hereby designated (by S.M. Blank). Type locality: Austria, nomen oblitum. Lectotype labeled “ interrupta ”; “ZMUC-GISHym 1069”. Left antenna, right flagellomeres 5–7, right middle tarsomere 5, hind tarsi missing.

Current status. Syn. nov. of Tenthredopsis tessellata ( Klug, 1817) , nomen protectum.

Discussion. The synonymy of Tenthredo tessellata and T. interrupta was already indicated by Klug (1819), but subsequent authors have interpreted the name differently. Dalla Torre (1894) listed interrupta under Tenthredo mesomelaena Linné, 1758 while Konow (1905) placed the name in synonymy with Rhogogaster viridis . The latter opinion was accepted by subsequent authors (e.g., Taeger et al. 2010).

Our colleague S.M. Blank (SDEI) examined the type in the course of a SYNTHESYS project (DK-TAF 4845, 2008). He confirmed: “Although the generally dirty white ground-color of the abdomen of the lectotype is faded, the excised, shallowly punctate clypeus, the absence of red on the abdomen, the basally white and distally black pterostigma, and the red hind femora distinguish this specimen as a Tenthredopsis species, which is known as T. tessellata ( Klug, 1817) . Tenthredo interrupta Fabricius, 1804 is the same as Tenthredopsis tessellata ( Klug, 1817) ”.

The name Tenthredopsis tessellata (or the misspelling tesselata) is frequently used (we noted about 100 works during the last 50 years), whereas interrupta according to our files was never used as the name of a valid species after 1899. Tenthredopsis tessellata is the type species of Tenthredopsis Costa, 1859 .

Tenthredo Viridis [sic!] Poda, 1761: 103. Primary homonym of Tenthredo viridis Linné, 1758 . Type (s) lost. Type locality: not given.

Current status. Species incertae sedis in Tenthredininae . Hereby excluded from synonymy with R. viridis . Discussion. The description8 fits with several Rhogogaster species, including R. viridis , but also Tenthredo olivacea Klug, 1817 .

Tenthredo straminea Schrank, 1776: 85 –86. Type (s) lost. Type locality: “ Oesterreich ” ( Austria).

Current status. Species incertae sedis in Tenthredininae . Hereby excluded from synonymy with R. viridis .

Discussion. Synonymy with R. viridis by Konow (1897a: 268–269) “Die T. straminea Schrnk. ist eine vergilbte Rhogogastera viridis L., da Schrank selbst sagt, dass dieselbe ebenso gezeichnet sei, wie viridis , mit dem Unterschiede, dass hier das paillenfarbig sei, was dort grün ist.”. Konow did not consider the complete description by Schrank (1776) 9 and ignored the color of the antennae and tarsi. The placement in Rhogogaster is therefore very doubtful. T. straminea might be a Tenthredopsis and is to be considered as species incertae sedis in Tenthredininae .

Tenthredo annalicornis [sic!] Gmelin, 1790: 2667. Type (s) lost. Type locality: Europa.

Current status. Species incertae sedis in Tenthredinidae . Hereby excluded from synonymy with R. viridis .

Discussion. The reference cited by Gmelin10 ( Zschach 1788) agrees with Gmelin’s description, except that “punctis conjugatis nigris” was given there as “punctis paribus nigris”. Kirby (1882) listed the species as “ Nematus (?) annalicornis ”. Konow (1897b: 314) synonymized it without explanation with R. viridis : “Die T. annulicornis 8. Poda (1761: 103) “ * * * Antennis filiformibus artculis 7. s. 8. excepta basi * Viridis . 3. T. antennis septemnodiis, corpore viridi, costa alarum superiorum longitudinali concolore, abdomine supra demtis marginibus fusco. Habitat in Fraxino.” 9. Schrank (1776: 85–86): “T. antennis septemnodiis, corpore flavo, abdomine supra fusco. Beschreibung. Sie ist größer, als die grüne (Tenth. viridis Lin. ), aber eben so gezeichnet, mit dem Unterscheide [sic!] daß hier das paillenfarben ist, was dort grün ist. Die Füsse, welche dort grün, und die Fühlhörner welche dort schwarz sind, sind hier hell castanienbraun. Das Vaterland ist Oesterreich. Man fängt sie an Oertern, wo es viele Weiden und Erlen giebt.”

[sic!] Gmel. ist sicher nichts anderes als Rhogogastera viridis L.”. There are serious doubts that this is correct, as the coloration of the antennae is different in Rhogogaster , the description of the remaining color pattern is very vague, and no information about the body size is given. The placement in Rhogogaster is therefore very doubtful, and T. annalicornis is better considered to be a species incertae sedis in Tenthredinidae .

Tenthredo chloros Rudow, 1871: 387 –388. Syntype (s) lost. Type locality: Germany, Unterharz.

Tenthredo chlora W.F. Kirby, 1882: 292 (emendation of T. chloros )

Current status. Species incertae sedis within Tenthredinidae . Hereby excluded from synonymy with R. viridis .

Discussion. Synonymy with T. viridis by Cameron (1882: 135). Treated as a doubtful synonym of T. chlorosoma Benson, 1943 by Benson (1943). Rudow’s descriptions are known to be frequently unreliable, and many of his taxa are hard to interpret. The types are lost ( Rudow 1883). These facts apply also to chloros . The described imago could be an extremely small male (7 mm, might be a result of suboptimal rearing) of chlorosoma . The usual size of the species in Central Europe is about 9–11 mm. Furthermore, Rudow (1871) 11 described the larva of chloros , reared on Salix fragilis . The larva should be 16–17 mm, and does not fit with the description given by Lorenz & Kraus (1957). Therefore it seems to be possible that the small imago and the rather big larva belong to different taxa. Consequently, Tenthredo chloros Rudow, 1871 is considered to be a species incertae sedis within Tenthredinidae .

Figures

FIGURE 1. a – b: Rhogogaster scalaris ♀ alive, from France, Midi-Pyrénées: Barèges 3 km ENE; 1450 m— a dorsal view b lateral view. c – d: face and shape of mandibles and clypeus in frontal view— c R. scalaris ♀, d R. punctulata ♂. e – f: head and thorax laterally, arrows in direction of anterior and ventral margin of pronotum— e R. sibirica: without submarginal furrow, f Tenthredo aericeps Konow, 1907: with submarginal furrow. g – h: apex of hind tibia, tibial spurs and basal tarsomeres— g T. virescens (lectotype), h R. scalaris (lectotype).