Pristiphora biscalis ( Foerster , 1854)

Prous, Marko, Kramp, Katja & Liston 1, Veli VikbergAndrew, 2017, North-Western Palaearctic species of Pristiphora (Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae), Journal of Hymenoptera Research 59, pp. 1-190 : 82

Pristiphora biscalis ( Foerster, 1854) Figs 27, 52, 76-77, 129, 253

Nematus biscalis Förster, 1854b: 326-327. Lectotype ♀ (GBIF-GISHym3698; here designated) in ZSM, examined. Type locality: Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Nematus conspersus Zaddach in Brischke, 1883b: 186. Syntype(s) possibly destroyed ( Blank and Taeger 1998). Type locality: not stated. Synonymised with Lygaeonematus biscalis by Konow (1905).

Nematus pruni Brischke, 1883: pl. I, 2. Holotype (sex not stated, see Brischke 1884) possibly destroyed ( Blank and Taeger 1998). Type locality: Oliwa (Oliva), Gdańsk, Poland. Listed as a synonym of P. biscalis by Taeger et al. (2010), but see commentary by Blank & Taeger (1998).

Nematus lateralis Brischke, 1885: 246. Primary homonym of Nematus lateralis Norton, 1867. Holotype ♀ possibly destroyed ( Blank and Taeger 1998). Type locality: Matemblewo, Gdańsk, Poland. Synonymised with Lygaeonematus biscalis by Konow (1898).

Nematus postumus Dalla Torre, 1894: 251. Replacement name for Nematus lateralis Brischke, 1885.

Similar species.

Females are perhaps most similar to P. maesta , from which P. biscalis differs by having black cercus (usually pale in P. maesta ) and at least partly pale clypeus (black in P. maesta ). Males are best recognised by examining penis valves (see the Key). A female specimen DEI-GISHym11094 (GenBank accession KC975746) from Brandenburg, Germany, is morphologically almost indistinguishable from P. biscalis , but might represent a different species based on rather divergent COI barcode sequence. Additional specimens are needed to evaluate if there are reliable morphological differences between these two forms and to check if nuclear sequences support the divergence found in COI.

Genetic data.

Based on COI barcode sequences, P. biscalis forms its own BIN cluster (BOLD:AAM9740) (Fig. 3). Maximum distance within the BIN is 0.16%. The nearest neighbour to BOLD:AAM9740, diverging by minimum of 7.43%, is BOLD:ABX2630 (specimen DEI-GISHym11094, which we have identified as P. biscalis , but might be a different species). Based on nuclear data (one specimen and NaK), the nearest neighbour is 2.5% different ( P. dedeara ).

Host plants.

Prunus spinosa L. ( Weiffenbach 1985).

Distribution and material examined.

West Palaearctic. Specimens studied are from Germany and Sweden.