Allantus nigrolinearis (Zirngiebl, 1937) Zirngiebl, 1937

Liston, Andrew D., Jacobs, Hans-Joachim & Prous, Marko, 2015, The Sawflies of Crete (Hymenoptera, Symphyta), Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 62 (1), pp. 65-79 : 65

Taxon classification Animalia Hymenoptera Tenthredinidae

† Allantus nigrolinearis (Zirngiebl, 1937) new status

Emphytus balteatus var. nigrolinearis Zirngiebl, 1937: 646; ♀, holotype [not examined]. Type locality: Kristallenia (Kreta) [= Panagia Kristalenia, Lasithi Plateau, East Crete]. Blank 1996; synonym of Allantus balteatus (Klug, 1818). Lacourt 1999; synonym of Emphytus laticinctus (Serville, 1823).

Allantus didymus var. nigrolinearis (Zirngiebl, 1937); Schedl 1981; misidentification.

Material.

Crete; 2♀♀, 1♂, Agia Irini, 26.iv.2013. 1♀, 1♂, Agia Irini, 28.iv.2013.

Barcode data.

The barcodes of two sequenced Allantus nigrolinearis specimens (DEIGISHym20641, 20642) are identical and amongst 34 sequenced specimens of Allantus didymus and Allantus laticinctus sensu lato, are most similar to those of Allantus ariadne Liston and Jacobs, 2012 from Cyprus (DEIGISHym11089, 11093), with divergence of about 3.9%. Minimal divergence of Allantus nigrolinearis from Allantus laticinctus (France BC ZSM 01149 and Italy, Sicily DEIGISHym11042) is 6.4%. Noteworthy is that divergence of 5.3% between Allantus nigrolinearis and Allantus didymus (Klug, 1818) (Italy DEIGISHym18775, and Germany; 10 specimens) is somewhat less than from Allantus laticinctus . Several other segregates cluster around the four named taxa in the barcode similarity tree, indicating that the species group requires revision and may contain more taxa than previously thought.

As noted by Blank (1996), Zirngiebl apparently had no clear concept of species, subspecies and varieties. His var. nigrolinearis was described within a paragraph discussing colour variability of a reared series of female Emphytus balteatus from Germany. However, his wording does not make it clear what relationship he considered his new variety to have to the other specimens. In the absence of any clear indication that Zirngiebl considered nigrolinearis to be of infrasubspecific rank, the name is available ( ICZN 1999, Article 45.6.4.).

Female Allantus nigrolinearis differ from those of Allantus laticinctus and Allantus ariadne in having an uninterrupted, broad, median, black vitta through the otherwise red sterna of the abdomen (Fig. 2). In the other species a number of sterna are entirely red. The metatibia of Allantus nigrolinearis females is also darker: apical half, and base narrowly, fuscous. In the other species the metatibia is entirely red except for apex. In two Allantus nigrolinearis the otherwise red abdominal terga 3-6 have a median black stripe (Fig. 3). In the third female, this stripe is interrupted on tergum 5 and the metatibia is somewhat paler than in the other specimens. The four basal serrulae of the lancet of Allantus nigrolinearis (Fig. 1) are subtriangular and similar to the other serrulae, whereas the four basal serrulae of Allantus laticinctus and Allantus ariadne are more rounded than the others ( Liston and Jacobs 2012, Figs 4, 6). The males of Allantus nigrolinearis and Allantus ariadne are indistinguishable, apparently including their penis valves ( Allantus nigrolinearis : Fig. 4. Allantus ariadne : Liston and Jacobs 2012, Fig. 7), but differ in leg colour from Allantus laticinctus . In Allantus nigrolinearis and Allantus ariadne the mid femur is almost entirely black except for the apex, but in Allantus laticinctus approximately the apical half of the mid femur is pale. The holotype of var. nigrolinearis was mistakenly considered by Schedl (1981, 1993) to belong to Allantus didymus (Klug, 1818) ( Schedl 2011). Schedl (2011) added a record from Crete of a male specimen which he determined as Allantus didymus . However, confusion of Allantus didymus with Allantus laticinctus (sensu lato) has been widespread, particularly of the males ( Koch 1988). Until more convincing evidence for the occurrence of Allantus didymus in Crete is presented, the name should be removed from the faunal list of the island.

Allantus laticinctus has only definitely been reared from Rosa , in central and western Europe ( Taeger et al. 1998, Knight 2006). The host(s) of Allantus nigrolinearis are likely to be Rosaceae (because the known hosts of other species in this complex are Rosaceae ), but as for Empria archangelskii (see below), several host species seem possible.