Actilasioptera, Gagne, 1998

Kolesik, Peter & Gagné, Raymond J., 2020, A review of the gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) of Indonesia: taxonomy, biology and adult key to genera, Zootaxa 4847 (1), pp. 1-82 : 10

Actilasioptera sp.

[ Figs 2 k–n]

Stefaniella falcaria Felt, 1921b: 141 (in part).

Material examined. Female paralectotype of Actilasioptera falcaria (Felt) , designated by Gagné (in Gagné & Law 1999), “ Avicennia officinalis L.” [corrected to Avicennia marina (Forssk.) Vierh. var intermedia (Griff.) Bakh. by DvL (1921)], Semarang, Java, Indonesia, 29-iv-1914, W. Docters van Leeuwen, Felt #a3090. The specimen is mounted whole, uncleared, with head and thorax mounted laterally, the abdomen dorsoventrally, the ovipositor retracted inside the abdomen.

Description. Female. Wing 1.7 mm long, 0.8 mm wide; R 5 two-thirds wing length, straight. Antennae with 12 flagellomeres, as in A. falcaria . Palpus [ Fig. 2k ] 2-segmented; first segment twice as long as wide, constricted at basal third, with several setae; second segment one-third width and length of first, with single terminal seta; palpiger absent. Ovipositor retracted inside abdomen, so extent of its dorsoventral curvature, a character differentiating Actilasioptera spp. ( Gagné & Law 1999), is not visible. Tarsal claws, empodia, pulvilli as in A. falcaria .

Male, pupa, larva unknown.

Remarks. This specimen was reared from the same host as Actilasioptera falcaria but from a different leaf gall. While the gall of A. falcaria is a large, irregular swelling [ Figs 2 a–d], the one associated with this female is a small, round pustule [ Figs 2m, n ]. The female differs from that of A. falcaria in the size of the second palpal segment that in this species is substantially smaller than the first and bears a single seta [ Fig. 2k ], while in A. falcaria it is only slightly smaller than the second and bears several setae [ Fig. 2h ]. At the time of the description, DvL (1921) believed that the two gall types were caused by two different species but Felt (1921b) wrote that with little question this female was referable to A. falcaria . The palpus of the specimen differs also from that of the remaining congeners in which the second palpal segment is larger than the first and bears several setae (see Gagné & Law 1999). We did not name this segregate in as much as the available female is in poor condition and the male, pupa and larva are lacking.

Biology. This species causes small pustule-like leaf galls on Avicennia marina (Acanthaceae) . According to DvLR & DvL (1910a, gall No. 97, Fig. 51c [ Fig. 2n ]) and DvLR & DvL (1926, gall No. 1284) the gall is a round leaf pustule, 3 mm wide and 1 mm or less thick, yellowish green on the upper side, yellow on the underside, containing two larval chambers. Following adult emergence, the pupal exuviae remain wedged in the exit holes on the underside of the gall. While the host was given as “ Avicennia officinalis L.” in DvLR & DvL (1910a) and Felt (1921b), DvL (1921) corrected the species to Avicennia marina (Forssk.) Vierh. var. intermedia (Griff.) Bakh. and provided a new, detailed illustration of the gall in Fig. 3 [ Fig. 2m ].

Geographical distribution. This segregate is currently known only from Semarang , Java where it was collected 29-iv-1914 ( Felt 1921b) and also from Jrakah, near Semarang , Java, iii.1912 ; Brebes , Java, i-1919 ; Untung Jawa island, near Jakarta, Java, iv.1919 ; Sebesi island , iv.1921 (DvLR & DvL 1926).

Figures

FIGURES 2a–j. Actilasioptera falcaria: a–d, galls on Avicennia marina: a, leaf upper side on top, gall cross section on bottom (Figs 51a, b of DvLR & DvL 1910); b (Fig. 2 of DvL 1921); c (Fig 921 of DvLR & DvL (1926)); d, leaf underside (Fig. 2 of Gagné & Law 1999); e–f, male: e, tarsal claw with empodium and pulvillus; f, terminalia (somewhat misshapen in the preparation), from left to right: cerci (ce), mesobasal lobe (ml), aedeagus (ae), hypoproct (hy), gonocoxite (gc), gonostylus (gs); g–k, female: g, end of abdomen (lateral); h, palpi; i, sixth flagellomere (ventral); j, same (dorsal). Figs 2k-n. Actilasioptera sp.: k, palpi; l, wing; m, galls on Avicennia marina, drawn to same scale as Fig. 2a, leaf underside on left, upper side on right (Fig. 3 of DvL (1921); n, gall cross section (Fig. 51c of DvLR & DvL 1910).

FIGURES 3a–o. Asphondylia callicarpae: a, gall on Callicarpa erioclona from the Philippines (Fig. X-2 of Uichanco (1919)); b, gall on Callicarpa longifolia from Java (Fig. 927 of DvLR & DvL (1926)); c, gall on Callicarpa longifolia from Java (Fig. 8 of DvL 1921); d, male palpi; e, male first tarsal segment; f, male last tarsal segment with claw, empodium and pulvillus; g, male antenna; h, gonostylus in posterodorsal view; i, female palpi; j, female wing; k, female antenna (within pupal exuviae); l, end of ovipositor in ventral view; m–o, anterior part of pupa: m, o, ventral; n, lateral. Insect drawings d–m are based on types reared from C. erioclona in the Philippines, n–o from C. longifolia in Java.