Pristiphora (Lygaeonematus) jacutica, Beneš, 2014

Beneš, Karel, 2014, A new species of Pristiphora (Lygaeonematus) KONOW, 1890 on spruce from East Siberia (Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 64 (1), pp. 39-46 : 40-43

Pristiphora (Lygaeonematus) jacutica sp. n.

Female: Colour: Head mostly black, frons below median fovea, lower part of paraantennal field, gena (except for a blackish spot between antennal sockets and margin of gena), clypeus and labrum testaceous, narrow hind and upper orbits yellowish brown. Antennae with scape and pedicel at least dorsally black, flagellum dorsally piceous, ventrally brownish. Thorax black, pronotum light yellow with anterior margin narrowly piceous; tegulae and spots in anterolateral part of mesepisternum including prepectus testaceous; mesoscutellum laterally with small inconspicuous paler spots; legs yellow, narrow apices of coxae partly piceous, femora, fore and mid tarsi brownish yellow, distal third of hind femur and hind tarsus piceous to black. Wings subhyaline, venation brown with C, A1 and stigma brownish yellow to yellowish brown. Abdomen testaceous, apically darker, dorsally black on tergites 1 to 7, tergites 8–10 piceous to brownish, sheath and basis of the 2nd valvifer black.

Head in dorsal aspect slightly but distinctly narrowed behind the eyes, genae short and rounded; postocellar area slightly convex, nearly three times as wide as long, lateral sutures flat, inconspicuous, transverse suture as a broad shallow furrow, so that lateral ocellus nearly twice its diameter from posterior side of head; coronal suture indistinct; frontal area slightly elevated, flat, ocellar basin as a shallow depression; median fovea distinct, elongate; frontoclypeal suture flat, anterior margin of clypeus subtruncate, medially clypeus scarcely as long as malar space; tentorial maculae triangular, with sharply defined sutures; anterior tentorial pit large and deep; inner orbits slightly convergent. Head covered with minute setiferous warts, slightly shining, densely pilose; vertex laterally of postocellar area and supraclypeal area nearly smooth, shining; hairs whitish to yellowish.

Antenna shorter than C + pterostigma of the forewing, about 2.5 times longer than width of the head; scape scarcely as long as apically wide, pedicel short, transverse, shorter than interantennal distance or gena; flagellomere 1 slightly curved, apically slightly oblique, subequal to flagellomere 2 and slightly shorter than maximum diameter of the eye.

Thorax with notum finely but densely coriaceously punctate, feebly shining, densely covered by short whitish hairs; notaulices posteriorly distinct, scuto–scutellar suture anteriorly angular, deep; parapsidal areas smooth, shining; mesepisternum finely punctate, with shining interspaces; epimerons and prepectus smooth; median suture of mesoscutum in posterior half indistinct; mesepisternum and mesobasisternum densely pilose, without glabrous band in the sterno–pleural line; post– tergite of mesoscutellum coriaceous, less shining than scutellum.

Legs with hind femur (without trochantellus) about as long as maximum width of thorax, tarsus distinctly shorter than tibia, inner spur of hind tibia slightly longer than its apical width, reaching to about 0.5 of basitarsus, which is as long as maximum diameter of an eye, slightly longer than flagellomere 1; claws apically only slightly curved, with small and indistinct inner tooth; hind tibia both mesally and laterally with shallow but distinct longitudinal groove; segment 2 of hind tarsus distinctly longer than apical width of tibia.

Wings in distal half more, in proximal half less densely covered with short microtrichiae, C apically strongly swollen and leaving only very narrow free space of cell Sc posteriorly of M leaving Rs; pterostigma medially less than three times as wide as long, centrally thinner than on the margins, basally sclerotized nearly to rs which is obsolescent, Sc slightly before M joining R; nygma in cell 2M light brown, cell 2r–m rather short, slightly wider than apically long.

Abdomen posteriorly strongly compressed laterally, dorsally slightly alutaceous, ventrally finely and sparsely punctate with setiferous pits and shining interspaces; lateral flanks of tergite 9 (epipygium) smooth and shining, glabrous in basal half but with fine setiferous pits distally; hypopygium with hind margins evenly rounded laterally of ligamentum, ovipositor slightly longer than interocular distance, half as long as hind tibia, with basal plate (valvifer 2) distinctly longer than basitarsus or segment 3 of antenna; sheath (valvula 3) short, rectangular, only one third of the length of basitarsus, with dorsal and ventral margins subparallel, laterally nearly as long as wide, dorsally about as long as cerci, with broadly truncate apex, with very narrow scopa, (sheath directed slightly upwards so that in dorsal aspect it seems tapering to acute apex as its ventral edge is narrow); marginal setae slightly curved, directed backwards and forming an acute angle. Valvula 1 with lamnium with apical serrulae indistinct, without ctenidia as in P. gerula but with distal sutures less oblique. Note: in several paratypes ( Fig. 1 ) valvula 1 malformed with radix irregularly annulate.

Measurements (Holotype, in mm): length –5.0; width of head –1.54; width of thorax –1.85; antenna –3.9; scape –0.16; pedicel 0.10; flagellomeres: 1–0.66; 2–0.66; 3–0.61; 4–0.45; 5–0.42; 6–0.40; 7–0.42; forewing –5.9; pterostigma –1.05 x 0.40; hind leg: femur –1.9 (2.0 with trochantellus; tibia –2.2; tarsus –1.9; basitarsus –0.69; inner hind tibial spur –0.27; apical width of tibia –0.23; interocular distance –1.00; eye –0.69 x 0.45; interantennal distance –0.12; antenno–ocular distance –0.15; malar space –0.15; ovipositor –1.08; basal plate –0.81; sheath –0.27.

Male: Colour: Head light amber yellow to testaceous dorsally, with large black spot covering postocellar area and frons anteriorly to median fovea and antennal sockets, laterally nearly to inner orbits and most of postgenae in upper part; apices of mandibles rufous. Antennae with scape and pedicel testaceous, flagellum dorsally light brown, ventrally light amber yellow, with scattered dark spiculae mesally. Thorax black on cervical sclerites, meso– and metanotum, and epimerons; mesoscutellum narrowly brownish along scuto–scutellar suture; pronotum and tegulae light amber yellow, underthorax testaceous. Legs yellowish with narrow apices of hind tibiae and tarsi piceous, apices of fore– and mid tarsi brownish yellow. Wings subhyaline with C and stigma testaceous, rest of venation yellowish to light brown. Abdomen dorsally black, tergites laterally, tergite 7 posterolaterally and more or less of procidentia brownish, laterotergites, sternites including hypandrium and genitalia testaceous; cerci piceous.

Head with very short rounded genae, in dorsal aspect distinctly contracted behind the eyes; postocellar area about three times as wide as long, laterally indistinctly limited, transverse suture as a shallow groove; frons slightly raised, flat, laterally and ventrally with indistinct carinae, vertex laterally of lateral ocelli distinctly concave and inner orbits slightly carinate; ocellar basin indistinct, median fovea elongate, deeper ventrally; clypeus about as long as malar space, with anterior margin subtruncate, slightly convex; POL: OOL = 1.0: 0.75; structure as in female.

Antenna slightly longer than C + stigma of the forewing, more than twice as long as width of thorax; pedicel strongly transverse, flagellum slightly compressed, basal segments stout, flagellomere 1 only about three times as long as wide, shorter than maximum diameter of an eye and equal to flagellomere 2; basal flagellomeres mesally with numerous stiff dark spiculae.

Thorax with notum as in female, suturae indistinct as flat broad grooves, median suture of mesoscutum posteriorly obsolete; scuto–scutellar suture nearly rounded, post– tergite not distinctly separated from scutellum, both slightly coriaceous; scutellum centrally glabrous; mesepisternum feebly and shallowly, mesobasisternum more deeply puncate, entirely pilose, prepectus and epimerons quite smooth, strongly shining. Legs with hind tarsus scarcely as long as tibia, and only scarcely longer than width of head; inner spur of hind tibia slightly longer than apical width of tibia, reaching nearly to 0.5 of basitarsus; basitarsus sbout as long as maximum diameter of an eye, about as long as flagellomere 1. Wings as in the female, Sc its own length before M, cell 2RS short, cross– vein 3r–m oblique, at least as long as anterior margin of the cell; rs absent.

Abdomen dorsally slightly transversely alutaceous, shining, ventrally feebly and shallowly punctate; procidentia broad, fan–shaped, apically slightly convex and polished, dividing tergite 8 all its length; lateral ridges rectangularly divergent; hypandrium nearly impunctate, smooth and strongly shining, as long as flagellomeres 1 + 2 combined, distinctly longer than interocular distance, apically circularly rounded. Harpe apically narrowly rounded, mesally slanted, longer than distally wide; penis valve as in Fig. 2 . Measurements (Allotype, in mm): length –4.3; width of head –1.38; width of thorax –1.69; antenna –3.5; scape –0.16; pedicel –0.12; flagellar segments; 3–0.54; 4–0.54; 5–0.49; 6–0.44; 7–0.40; 8–0.39; 9–0.38; forewing –4.3; pterostigma –0.9x0.35; hind leg: femur –1.23 (1.35 with trochantellus); tibia –1.46; tarsus –1.42; basitarsus –0.54; inner spur of tibia –0.25; apical width of tibia –0.23; interocular distance –0.96; eye –0.58x0.42; interantennal distance –0.09; antenno–ocular distance –0.13; malar space –0.11; length of hypandrium –1.1.

Mature larva: Width of head capsule – 1.23 mm; total length 15–18 mm.

Head generally as in other species of the abietina – complex, subglobose, slightly shining, yellowish brown, with brown to dark brown colour pattern in form of separated, well defined or more or less fused rounded spots, particularly on vertex strongly reticulate. Dark colour pattern consists of epicranial stripe along coronal suture reaching nearly to frontal suture where it is bifurcated towards ocularia but not reaching them. Transverse brown spot across the frons (facial stripe) is often medially constricted or divided into nearly separated spots and reaches to frontoparietal region where it is often connected with branches of the epicranial stripe. Orbital stripe is well developed and is connected, though often only feebly with epicranial stripe and reaches across vertex down to gena. Labrum and anterior tentorial depressions brown. Entire head covered with brown setae which are very scarce to nearly absent on vertex but more numerous and longer downwards, those on genae being up to 0.08 mm long.

Antenna four–segmented, segment 1 small, with oval flat sensilla, segments 2 and 3 ring–like, subconical, each with 2 oval flat sensillae, segment 3 and sometimes also segments 1 and 2 or 2 with one small peg–like sensilla. Apical segment bluntly conical, with 3 apical conical sensillae and several flat and small ones.

Chaetotaxy distinct: frons with 16–19 setae, 7 of which are usually located along the frontoclypeal suture; clypeus 1 with 2 + 2 longer setae laterally and 2 + 2 small sensillae; labrum with 2 + 2 long setae laterally and about 30 placoid and campaniform sensillae, more densely in lower part, and numerous sensillae marginally; epipharynx with about 9 stout setae each side, mandible with 1 short seta lateroproximally. Maxilla: cardo with 1 short seta, palpifer with 2 curved setae ventrolaterally, 2nd segment of its palpus with 1 straight lateral seta and 3rd segment dorsoapically with 2 short blunt setae (sensillae); mesal side of palpifer and 2 basal segments of palpus with squamate surface, laterally slightly sclerotized, apical segments more sclerotized, brownish; galea dark brown, distally sclerotized with flat, apically conical sensillae.

1 in saxesenii , clypeus and labrum have also 4 setae and not 6 as shown in NIGITZ 1974, Fig. 3.

Body cylindrical, slightly shining, with slightly granulate surface. General colour greenish (?) with three longitudinal brownish grey stripes reaching to segment 9; lateral supraspiracular stripes distinctly wider than dorsal one. Thorax without dark spots, only cervical sclerites dark brown. Thoracic legs with coxae basally along the suture and adjacent parts of prehypopleurite brown infuscate; tarsi brown, distal part of femur and distal and proximal part of tibia laterally dark brown, latter with about 8 setae. Prolegs on abdominal segments 2 to 7, anterolaterally with brownish smudge and with about 6–8 setae; segment 8 ventrally with a pair of dark setiferous warts. Abdominal segment 1 with 2 setae on both pre- and postepipleurite, those on preepipleurite on flat brownish warts; segments 2 to 8 with large dark brown elongate spots on preepipleurite and postepipleurite, postepipleurites 2 and 3 and often also preepipleurite 2 with 5–7 small separate setiferous spots; segment 9 with one small fused spot on epipleurite, 3rd abdominal segment with annulets 2 and 4 setiferous, with 4–7 short setae each side, 1st postspiracular area with 2–3 setae and 1 glanduba, 2nd postspiracular area with 3 setae; preepipleurite with 5–6 setae and single glanduba, postepipleurite with 5–7 setae; segment 10 dorsally (suranal lobe) proximally feebly setaceous, rounded, mediodistally with a brownish elongate shade with a group of brownish to dark brown convex warts and with long dark brown setae around anus; setae on sternal side of 10th segment on dark brown warts.

Variability: There is a certain colour variability which is most conspicuous on the thorax of females. Mesepisternum and mesobasisternum may be nearly completely testaceous to nearly entirely blackish, with only small spots in anterolateral part of mesepisternum remaining rufous (similar range of variability occurs e.g. in P. (L.) abietina ). However, in most specimens, there is a broad pale band across mesepisternum. Some specimens are black along the frontoclypeal and /or epistomal suture; hind and upper orbits may be broadly testaceous to piceous. Antennae in male with scape and pedicel testaceous to ringed piceous as in female, flagellum dorsally piceous to yellowish brown.

The larvae show certain variability in intensity of the head colour pattern. Particularly the differences in a form of transverse facial stripe are conspicuous. In palest specimens it consists of two groups of brownish spots but in darker ones it forms a well developed transverse band reaching branches of epicranial stripe. Also spots on the pre– and postepipleurites are more or less confluent.

Anomalies: A high percentage of anomalies occur in the wing-venation: Sc in the forewing mostly distant its length from junction of M with R + M but in several specimens nearly interstitial, obsolete or completely missing; cross–vein 2r–m in the forewing often absent (1rs obsolete). Similarly high degree of individual departures from normal venation is reported also by ZINOVJEV (1986) in his revision of the Far East species of the genus Platycampus SCHIÖDTE. Valvula 1 in several females with irregular segmentation of radix (see Fig. 1 ).

Differential diagnosis: P. (L.) jacutica belongs to the compressa – complex of the well defined abietina – group of Pristiphora ( WONG, 1975) and can be assigned, together with P. (L.) saxesenii (HARTIG) and P. (L.) gerula (KONOw) to a distinct subgroup, characterized in females by smooth, mostly glabrous and strongly shining epipygium, sheath in dorsal aspect subacute with convergent sides and missing or obsolescent scopa, and in lateral aspect at most quadrangular, with truncate apex, its dorsal and ventral sides being subparallel. Japanese P. (L.) ezomatsuvora TOGASHI and P. (L.) harai TOGASHI have also shining epipygium but differ by much longer and in dorsal aspect subparallel sheath in females and entirely black underthorax in both sexes.

In colour the females resemble gerula but often they are even darker. While in gerula the mesepisternum is usually yellow, in jacutica mesobasisternum and most of mesepisternum can be piceous. From saxesenii it differs also by much darker colour – in females of saxesenii the mesepimeron is pale, at most only with sutures black, and abdomen mostly testaceous with separated black spots dorsally while in jacutica the mesepimeron is entirely black. The sheath of jacutica (in posterior aspect) possesses very narrow obsolescent scopa as in saxesenii and in dorsal aspect is tapering to narrow subtruncate apex, in gerula the scopa is absent. The saw in jacutica (lst valvula) is very similar to gerula and lacks ctenidia and apical annuli are only indistinctly separated. However, in gerula the two basal annuli are strongly oblique while in jacutica they are nearly perpendicular. In saxesenii the annuli are distinct and from the second segment on bear distinct ctenidia. The male is best separated on its penis valve.

The larva runs in the keys by NIGITZ (1974) and BENEŠ & KŘÍSTEK (1979) to P. (L.) saxesenii with which it shares large blackish spots on preepipleurite (subspiracular lobe) and postepipleurite (surpedal lobe) of middle abdominal segments, while in other species of the compressa – complex there are small dark isolated spots. However, in jacutica the postepipleurites of abdominal segments 2 and more or less also 3 have isolated spots, not fused into large ones as on preepipleurite. From saxesenii , it can also be easily separated on different dark colour pattern of the head. Epicranial stripe reaches to frontal suture where it is bifurcate along frontal sutures but does not reach ocularia. On the other hand, orbital stripe is always connected with ocularia and often reaches to epicranial stripe, though only narrowly. In saxesenii , the bifurcation of the epicranial stripe continues along frontal sutures down to ocularia. Also thoracic legs and spots on prolegs in saxesenii are more densely blackish than in jacutica . In gerula , a simple coronal stripe reaches only to frons, transverse facial stripe is absent and both pre– and postpipleurites bear isolated dark spots. Another species with fused spots on abdominal segments, P. robusta , is well characterized by its size and entirely black head.

Host: Siberian spruce – Picea obovata LEDEBOUR.

Distribution: East Siberia (Central Yakutia).

Holotype: Female labelled: „C. Jakutia, s.(selo = village) Megino-Aldan, 20 km nizhe ust´ja Amgi (= below the estuary of the river Amga), im.(imago) 20.v.982, Kajmuk; sad. (sadka = rearing) 02–81, l. (larva) 13.–17.vii.81, el´ (= spruce) (white labels, hand–written in Russian kyrillic); Pristiphora jacutica sp. n. BeneŠ (white hand written label); Holotypus (red printed label)“.

Paratypes: 38 , 11 , the same data. Holotype deposited in the Zoological Institute , Academy of Sciences, St. Peterbourg . Paratypes also in coll. DEI Müncheberg, USNHM Washington , NSM Tokyo and NMPC Praha .

Figures

Fig. 1: P.(L.) jacutica n. sp. malformed valvula 1.

Fig. 2: P.(L.) jacutica n. sp. penis valve.