Ametastegia persica Khayrandish, Talebi & Blank, 2015

Liston, Andrew, 2023, Taxonomy, distribution and host plants of some southern European and North African Sawflies (Hymenoptera, Symphyta), Contributions to Entomology 73 (1), pp. 9-30 : 9

Ametastegia persica Khayrandish, Talebi & Blank, 2015

Fig. 8A-F

Material examined.

Italy: Sicily, 1♂ (DEI-GISHym19001), Gratteri ca. 3 km NE, ca. 800 m, +37.970 +14.000, 21.05.2010, A. Liston leg. (SDEI) . Iran [only images seen]: Gilan, 1♀ (DEI-GISHym18098; holotype of A. persica ) , 2♂ (DEI-GISHym18099, DEI-GISHym18614; paratypes of A. persica ), Rudsar, Rahimabad, Orkom village , 1235 m, 36.762°N, 50.303°E, 17.05.2010, M. Khayrandish leg. (Coll. M. Khayrandish, University of Tehran) .

Notes.

The Italian specimen was discussed by Liston et al. (2013) as a possibly undescribed species of Ametastegia subgenus Protemphytus . Later, it was noted that its COI barcode is similar to two Iranian specimens included in BOLD Systems (DEI-GISHym18098, DEI-GISHym18099), differing from these by approximately 3.0-3.5%. Barcodes of these three specimens cluster together, with a minimum distance of 3.4% to the next nearest neighbor, Ametastegia pallipes (Spinola, 1808). The barcoded Iranian specimens are the holotype and a paratype of A. persica . Compared to other European Ametastegia (Protemphytus) species, the Sicilian individual has very distinctively coloured hind legs (Fig. 8A, B ): the femora and tibiae are extensively red-brown with white bases, and the tarsi blackish, whereas no red-brown colour is found in the other species. The metatibiae of the barcoded Iranian male are extensively red-brown, but the metafemora are basally white and apically black. The other examined male A. persica paratype (DEI-GISHym18614) has the darker parts of the hind legs blackish. It seems that leg colour in A. persica is very variable, at least in males, although this is not mentioned in the original description. However, among European Ametastegia (Protemphytus) , the pale postspiracular sclerite is apparently unique to A. persica , as already noted by Khayrandish et al. (2015). Most existing keys use leg coloration as a major character, but this is not reliable on its own. For example: two females of A. carpini in the SDEI from Lower Austria, reared from Geranium robertianum by E. Altenhofer, have entirely white metafemora, and the metatibiae white except only for the extreme tips. At the other extreme, some male specimens of A. carpini have completely black hind legs, and therefore resemble A. tenera ( Fallén, 1808). To identify the species accurately, it is best to also examine the mesoscutellum and the claws (see the key, below).

Ametastegia persica was previously known only from northern Iran: Gilan and Mazandaran Provinces ( Khayrandish et al. 2015).

Figures

Figure 8. Ametastegia (Protemphytus) species. A-F. A. persica ♂ (DEI-GISHym 19001); A, B. Complete; C, D. Head and thorax, postspiracular sclerite arrowed; E. Head frontal; F. Mesoscutellum; G, H. A. armillata ♀ (DEI-GISHym 4106); G. Thorax dorsal; H. Thorax lateral, postspiracular sclerite arrowed; I-K. Mesoscutellum; I. A. armillata ♀ (DEI-GISHym 4106); J. A. pallipes ♀ (DEI-GISHym 11284); K. A. carpini ♀ (DEI-GISHym 81404). Scale bars: 1 mm.