Brueelia kratochvili Balat , 1958

Gustafsson, Daniel R., Oslejskova, Lucie, Najer, Tomas, Sychra, Oldrich & Zou, Fasheng, 2019, Redescriptions of thirteen species of chewing lice in the Brueelia - complex (Phthiraptera, Ischnocera, Philopteridae), with one new synonymy and a neotype designation for Nirmus lais Giebel, 1874, Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 66 (1), pp. 17-39 : 26-29

Brueelia kratochvili Balat, 1958 Figs 48-49 , 50-54

Brueelia kratochvili Balát, 1958: 413.

Nigronirmus kratochvili ( Balát, 1958); Złotorzycka 1964: 250.

Type host.

Motacilla flava feldegg Michahelles, 1830, yellow wagtail ( Motacillidae ).

Type locality.

Burgas, Bulgaria.

Other hosts.

Motacilla flava Linnaeus, 1758, yellow wagtail. Motacilla tschutschensis macronyx (Stresemann, 1920), Eastern yellow wagtail. Motacilla alba Linnaeus, 1758, white wagtail, new host record.

Description.

Both sexes. Head slender, trapezoidal (Fig. 50 ), lateral margins of preantennal area convex proximally and slightly concave distally, frons concave. Marginal carina of moderate width, narrowing conspicuously at dsms, much displaced and widened at osculum. Ventral anterior plate small, rounded rectangular, hard to see in many specimens. Head chaetotaxy and pigmentation patterns as in Figure 50 . Preantennal nodi moderate, not bulging. Pre- and postocular nodi moderate. Marginal temporal carina of moderate width, with median margin undulating. Gular plate lanceolate. Thoracic and abdominal segments and pigmentation patterns as in Figures 48 , 49 .

Male. Thoracic and abdominal chaetotaxy as in Figure 48 . Basal apodeme constricted at about midpoint (Fig. 51 ). Proximal mesosome large (Fig. 52 ), gently rounded. Mesosomal lobes broad, highly convergent distally; rugose area extensive in distal end. Gonopore semi-oval, longer than wide. Parameres broad, extended distally (Fig. 53 ); pst1-2 as in Figure 53 . Measurements ex Motacilla flava feldegg (n = 8): TL = 1.55-1.72; HL = 0.33-0.35; HW = 0.26-0.28; PRW = 0.18-0.19; PTW = 0.26-0.28; AW = 0.31-0.37. Measurements ex Motacilla flava ssp. (n = 7): TL = 1.58-1.74; HL = 0.32-0.35; HW = 0.25-0.28; PRW = 0.18-0.20; PTW = 0.25-0.29; AW = 0.32-0.36.

Female. Thoracic and abdominal chaetotaxy as in Figure 49 . Subgenital plate rounded rectangular, with narrow connection to cross-piece (Fig. 54 ). Vulval margin gently rounded, with 3 or 4 short, slender vms and 3-5 short, thorn-like vss on each side; 5 or 6 short, slender vos on each side of subgenital plate; distal 1 vos median to vss. Measurements ex Motacilla flava feldegg (n = 10): TL = 1.88-2.06 (2.00); HL = 0.35-0.39 (0.37); HW = 0.29-0.32 (0.31); PRW = 0.20-0.22 (0.21); PTW = 0.28-0.32 (0.30); AW = 0.39-0.44 (0.42). Measurements ex Motacilla flava ssp. (n = 20, except TL, HW and AW where n = 19): TL = 1.80-20.8 (1.97); HL = 0.340.38 (0.36); HW = 0.28-0.31 (0.29); PRW = 0.18-0.22 (0.21); PTW = 0.27-0.33 (0.30); AW = 0.39-0.44 (0.41). Measurements ex Motacilla tschutchensis macronyx (n = 1): TL = 1.89; HL = 0.36; HW = 0.29; PRW = 0.20; PTW = 0.30; AW = 0.40.

Type material.

Lectotype ♂, Burgas, Bulgaria, 29 May 1957, F. Balát, 917a (MMBC). Paralectotypes. 2♂, 5♀, same data as lectotype, F. Balát, 917a-b, 945a-c (MMBC). 1♂, 1♀, same data as lectotype, F. Balát, 945d, Brit. Mus. 1958-425 (NHML). 1♀, same data as lectotype, F. Balát (PMSL).

Non-type material. Ex Motacilla flava ssp.: 4♂, 4♀, Velké Kapušany, Slovakia, 18 Apr. 1959, F. Balát, 1485, 1486, 1487, 1488 (MMBC). 3♂, 14♀, Metkovic, Croatia, 23 Apr. 1963, A. Lesinger, 6285-6290, 8415-8428 (PMSL). 1♂, Dubrovnik, Croatia, 1 Apr. 1968, A. Lesinger, 11420 (PMSL). 1♀, Burgas, Bulgaria, 29 May 1957, F. Balát (PMSL). 1♀, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India, 4 Oct. 1969, X1E-1006, 24295 on reverse (NHML). 1♀, Muang Bung Boraphet, Nakhon Sawan Province, Thailand, 15 Mar. 1968, X1E-702 (NHML). 2♂, 2♀, Bahig, Egypt, 25 Aug. 1968, OMS-4468 (NHML). 1♀, Mishmar HaNegev [?], Israel, 29 Aug. 1960, 1167-1174, Brit. Mus. 1961-403 (NHML).

Ex M. tschutschensis macronyx : 1♀, Bangkok, Thailand, 18 Sep. 1964, H.E. McClure, H-0953 (NHML).

Ex M. alba : 2♂, 1♀, Krišovská Liesková - Krížany, Slovakia, 14 Apr. 1959, F. Balát, 1215, 1216, 1217 (MMBC).

Remarks.

Balát (1958) did not designate any type specimens, and all specimens he mentioned are therefore syntypes. The words "Type male and female" is handwritten on the label of slide 917a, and we therefore designate the male on this slide as the lectotype (this male has been marked with a dark spot on the slide); all other specimens mentioned by Balát (1958) thus become paralectotypes. All material is present at the MMBC except for the slides at the NHML and PSML listed above, as well as a slide with a single male we have been unable to trace; it should be regarded as lost.

In addition, there are two slides at MMBC (1485 and 1486) marked 'Type male" and "Type female" on the labels. However, these were collected a year after the publication of B. kratochvili , and can thus not be part of the type series. The slides from Motacilla alba are also labeled "Type male" (slide no. 1215), "Paratype male" (slide no. 1216), and "Type female" (slide no. 1217), but no species name based on these specimens have ever been published. The specimens from Motacilla alba are here deemed to be conspecific with M. kratochvili from M. flava . There are no significant differences in head shape, male genitalia, or abdominal chaetotaxy between material from the two host species, but females from M. alba have slightly different vulval chaetotaxy from that described above (4 vos, 3 or 4 vms, 5-7 vos on each side). These setal numbers overlap, and we therefore consider M. alba to be a new host record of B. kratochvili .

Notably, specimens from Asian subspecies of M. alba we have seen differ from the present material in the extent of head pigmentation, the male abdominal chaetotaxy, and the shape of the male genitalia, including both the parameres and the mesosome. These populations may represent a different species of Brueelia , and are not included under B. kratochvili here.

Figures

Figures 48, 49. Brueelia kratochvili Balat, 1958, ex Motacilla flava Linnaeus, 1758 48 Male habitus, dorsal and ventral views 49 Female habitus, dorsal and ventral views.

Figures 50 - 54. Brueelia kratochvili Balat, 1958, ex Motacilla flava Linnaeus, 1758 50 Male head, dorsal and ventral views 51 Male genitalia, dorsal view 52 Male mesosome, ventral view 53 Male paramere, dorsal view 54 Female subgenital plate and vulval margin, ventral view.