Winnertzia betulicola Mamaev, 1963

Jaschhof, Mathias, 2024, New taxa and new records of Winnertziinae and Porricondylinae (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) from Germany, European Journal of Taxonomy 953, pp. 1-134 : 12-14

Winnertzia betulicola Mamaev, 1963

Fig. 3

I identify here several large, unusually colorful males of a Winnertzia hitherto unknown to me as W. betulicola . This species was described by Mamaev (1963) from a single specimen, the holotype male, whose terminalia were figured both in the original description ( Mamaev 1963: fig. 2.9) and in Spungisʼs revision of European Winnertziini ( Spungis 1992: fig. 47). The terminalia of my specimens from Germany ( Fig. 3 ) match those illustrations fairly well; the mismatches I noticed, such as regarding the outline of the ninth tergite, the gonostylus and the tegmen, I attribute to the fact that the holotype specimen is obviously somewhat compressed by the cover slip. Although Mamaev (1963) and Spungis (1992) were of the opinion that the morphology of W. betulicola is unmistakable, I provide here a reworked specific diagnosis including a terminalia illustration, since certain characters that I deem diagnostic went unnoticed in the past.

Revised diagnosis

Morphology

Males studied here are up to 2.5 mm long; Mamaev (1963) described for the holotype specimen 3.5 mm. The basic coloration of the body is a light brown with orange tinge, which contrasts with the flagellomeres with dark-brown nodes and whitish necks, and the mostly yellowish legs with dark-brown femoral apices and tarsi. The legsʼ bicoloration is mainly caused by setae and scales that form a dense, adpressed cover. A dense cover of almost black, erect setae and scales on various parts of the head (clypeus, gena) and thorax (scutum, scutellum) as well as the entire abdomen contributes to the bodyʼs colorful impression, which to appreciate requires undisturbed specimens. Also, the terminalia are twotoned, the gonostyli being yellowish, the rest brown. Apart from that, the terminalia are characterized by the following peculiarities ( Fig. 3 ): the large, slightly dorsad-directed and bent gonostylus has a small cluster of dark spines apically that form an irregular comb; of the gonocoxal synsclerite, the ventral emargination is unusually deep and narrow, the medial bridges are conspicuously densely covered with fine setae (↓ 1), and the dorsal apodemes end in short, subtriangular processes (↓ 2); the ninth tergite has a distinct, broadly V-shaped incision posteriorly and a pair of densely microtrichose lobes inside whose margins (towards the incision) appear as dark, seemingly sclerotized ridges (↓ 3).

DNA barcode

CO1 sequences (651‒653bp) of the five specimens listed below are available in BIN BOLD:ACV0725. A search in BOLDʼs BIN Database retrieved a further match for this BIN, as Diptera sp. from Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany (accessed 25 Aug. 2023).

Material examined

GERMANY ‒ Bavaria • 1 ♂; Lower Franconia, Waldaschaffer Forst ; 49°96′92″ N, 9°35′64″ E; elev. 445 m; 15 Jul. 2019; LandKlif and J. Müller leg.; Malaise trap; BOLD GBDTA10531-21; ZSM-DIP-42309-G09 • 1 ♂; same data as for preceding; BOLD GBDTA10532-21 ; ZSM-DIP-42309-G10 • 1 ♂; same data as for preceding; BOLD GBDTA10533-21 ; ZSM-DIP-42309-G11 • 1 ♂; same data as for preceding; BOLD GBDTA10534-21 ; ZSM-DIP-42309-G12 • 1 ♂; München, Perlacher Forst ; 48°08′50″ N, 11°58′85″ E; elev. 551 m; 18 Jul. 2019; LandKlif and J. Müller leg.; Malaise trap; BOLD GBDTA10548-21 ; ZSM-DIP-42310-A03 .

Distribution

Germany (new record); European and Far Eastern parts of Russia ( Gagné & Jaschhof 2021).

Figures

Fig. 3. Winnertzia betulicola Mamaev, 1963, ♂ (ZSM-DIP-42309-G09), terminalia, ventral view. Scale line: 0.05 mm. The numbered arrows indicate diagnostic characters (see text).