Athalia obsoleta Benson, 1962

Koch, Frank, Pauly, Alain, Hora, Zewdu A. & Boevé, Jean-Luc, 2015, Sawflies of Ethiopia (Hymenoptera: Argidae, Tenthredinidae), Zootaxa 4021 (1), pp. 119-155 : 135-136

Athalia obsoleta Benson, 1962

( Fig. 12 A–D)

Athalia himantopus obsoleta Benson, 1962: 378 . Locus typicus: Ethiopia, Addis Ababa [Adis Abeba]. Holotype: ♀. Ethiopia, Addis Ababa [09°00'N 038°45'E], 7500 ft, 30.IX.1945, K. M. Guichard (BMNH). Athalia obsoleta: Koch, 2007: 95 .

Additional Ethiopian material. Scioa, Let-Marefià [09°38'N 039°45'E], VI–VII.1880 ( MCSN); IV–VII.1881 (1 ♀), leg. Antinori ( UZMT); Scioa, L. Cialabaka [= L. Cheleleka, 09°N 040°E], VI.1885 (1 ♀), leg. Ragazzi ( MCSN); Bahar Dar [Baher Dar, 11°36'N 037°23'E], 27.X.1968 (1 ♂), leg. K.W. & H. Harde; VI–VII.1969 (1 ♀), leg. Schäuffele ( SMNS); Jimma [07°40'N 036°50'E], 26.X–01.XI.1969, leg. R. H. Cobben (1 ♀) ( WUPS); Sebeta, 08°54’N 038°35’E, 2165 m, 03.X.2010, P3413 (1 ♂), leg. J.-L. Boevé ( RBINS); Debre Zeyit, 08°45'N 038°59'E, 1920 m, 06.X.2010, flying just above the ground of a vegetable garden, P3421 (1 ♂), leg. J.-L. Boevé ( RBINS); Ineseno ( Fig. 6 B), 08°02’N 038°31’E, 1800 m, 14.IX.2012, on Brassicaceae crop, P3615 (1 ♀), leg. J.-L. Boevé & A. Pauly ( RBINS); Ineseno, 08°02’N 038°31'E, 1835 m, 14.IX.2012, on Brassicaceae crop mixed with Caspicum, P3616, P3618 (2 ♂), leg. J.-L. Boevé & A. Pauly ( RBINS); Abijata Shala N. P., 07°29’N 038°39’E, 1620 m, 16.IX.2012, flying during light rain, P3621 (1 ♂), leg. J.-L. Boevé & A. Pauly ( RBINS); near Senkele N. P., 07°13’N 038°16’E, ≈ 2000 m, 17.IX.2012, on Vernonia auriculifera (Asteraceae) flowers, P3629 (1 ♂), leg. J.-L. Boevé & A. Pauly ( RBINS); Tarmaber Pass, 09°50'13"N 039°44'30"E, 3160 m, 29.IX.2012, on Ajuga integrifolia , P3639Ba_01 (1 ♀), leg. Z. A. Hora, K. Amberbir & J.-L. Boevé ( RBINS); Oromia, Ghedo ( Fig. 6 C), 09°01’N 037°27’E, 2400 m, 25.IX.2013, with yellow pan traps, P3811 (1 ♀), leg. Z. A. Hora & A. Pauly ( RBINS); Holeta, 09°04'N 038°30'E, 2450 m, with yellow pan traps, 10.VII.2012, P3690a (1 ♀), 14.IX.2012, P3646 (1 ♂), 19.IX.2012, P3665 (1 ♀), 20.IX.2012, P3647 (1 ♂), 21.IX.2012, P3648, P3666_1 (2 ♀), 05.X.2012, P3649_1 (1 ♂), 05.X.2012, P3649_2 (1 ♀), 06.X.2012, P3650_1 (1 ♂), 07.X.2012, P3651 (1 ♀), 09.X.2012, P3652_1 (1 ♂), 11.X.2012, P3654 (1 ♀), 12.X.2012, P3655_1 (1 ♂; MFN), 13.X.2012, P3656 (1 ♀), 19.X.2012, P3657 (1 ♂), 24.XI.2012, P3662 (1 ♀), leg. Z. A. Hora, J.-L. Boevé & A. Pauly ( RBINS).

Distribution. Ethiopia ( Fig. 8 C), Kenya.

Host plant. Brassicaceae ( Opitz et al. 2012) .

Remarks. Benson (1962) distinguished three geographical races (or subspecies) of Athalia himantopus : the nominotypical form A. himantopus himantopus , as well as A. himantopus truncata and A. himantopus obsoleta . All these subspecies are recognized as valid species of the A. himantopus species group ( Koch 2007).

Figures

FIGURE 6. Biotopes in which sawflies were collected. A, Nech Sar N. P. (19. IX. 2012); collected: Arge deckerti and Neacidiophora brevifalcata. B, Ineseno (14. IX. 2012); collected: Athalia obsoleta and Athalia vollenhoveni. C, Ghedo (05. XII. 2013); collected: Athalia spp. D, Holeta HBRC forest (13. IX. 2012); collected: Arge massajae. E, near Lake Chamo (21. IX. 2012); collected: Distega montium. F, Senkele N. P. (17. IX. 2012); collected: Trisodontophyes aethiopica.

FIGURE 8. Distribution maps of six sawfly species. A, Arge massajae. B, Athalia aethiopica. C, Athalia obsoleta. D, Athalia vollenhoveni. E, Xenapates nigritus. F, Distega montium.

FIGURE 12. Athalia obsoleta. A & C, dorsal views. B & D, lateral views. A – B, males (P 3655 _ 1 & P 3616), body length: 7.0 mm. C – D, female (P 3615), body length: 8.5 mm.