Raphidia (Raphidia) mediterranea H. Aspoeck , U. Aspoeck & Rausch, 1977

Aspoeck, Horst & Aspoeck, Ulrike, 2023, The snakeflies of the Mediterranean islands: review and biogeographical analysis (Neuropterida, Raphidioptera), Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 70 (1), pp. 175-218 : 175

Raphidia (Raphidia) mediterranea H. Aspoeck, U. Aspoeck & Rausch, 1977

Raphidia (Raphidia) ophiopsis mediterranea H. Aspöck, U. Aspöck & Rausch, 1977 (odescr): H. Aspöck et al. 1989 (biogeogr, distr); H. Aspöck et al. 1991 (mon); Popov 1993 (com); U. Aspöck et al. 1995 (ethol: cop); H. Aspöck and Hölzel 1996 (distr); H. Aspöck et al. 2001 (anncat); H. Aspöck 2012 (cat).

Raphidia (Raphidia) mediterranea H. Aspöck, U. Aspöck & Rausch: H. Aspöck et al. 1991 (mon); Letardi and Pantaleoni 1996 (com, rec); H. Aspöck and U. Aspöck 2007 (biogeogr, distr); H. Aspöck and U. Aspöck 2013 (cat, etymol; ill: imag, ♂ imag), 2014 (cat); Canbulat 2014 (biogeogr, distr); Sziráki 2014 (rec); Rausch et al. 2016 (tax, rec, distr, ecol); Gruppe et al. 2017 (rec, ecol); H. Aspöck et al. 2017 (molecsyst, phyl, rec, distr, biogeogr).

Raphidia mediterranea H. Aspöck, U. Aspöck & Rausch: H. Aspöck et al. 1991 (mon); Sziráki 1993 (nom, rec; ill: distrmap, gs); Güsten 1998 (rec); Pantaleoni 2005 (com, rec); Sziráki 2010 (ill: imag); Tillier et al. 2022a (rec); Gruppe et al. 2023 (biol).

Taxonomy.

H. Aspöck et al. (1991), Sziráki (1993), H. Aspöck et al. (2017) (Fig. 5b, c ). This species was originally described as a subspecies of Raphidia ophiopsis L., from which it differs morphologically slightly in characters of the male (and also female) genitalia. Based upon considerable ecological characters R. mediterranea has been elevated to species rank, and later this decision was corroborated by a molecular systematic analysis (H. Aspöck et al. 2017).

Biology and ecology.

Larvae (Fig. 5d ) soil-dwelling, in high altitudes in Greece, at least partly, corticolous. (Larvae of the isolated population in a farm house in Upper Austria develop in the straw of the fetched roof of the old building; Gruppe et al. 2017.) Developmentone or two years. Last hibernating stage: full-grown larva. Adults: IV-VI(VII). The preferred habitats on altitudes below 500 m are all kinds of maquis, often with mass occurrence. In high altitudes (records at 1100 m) in light forests, also in gardens.

Records on Mediterranean islands

(Fig. 11a ). Skyros, Euboea, Andros, Hydra, Aegina, Naxos, Paros, Ikaria, Karpathos. Syntopic Raphidioptera species on Mediterranean islands: Phaeostigma (Ph.) euboica (Euboea), Ph. (Graecoraphidia) divina retsinata (Euboea), Ph. (Magnoraphidia) wewalkai (Euboea), Ph. (M.) flammi (Euboea), Ph. (Aegeoraphidia) raddai (Ikaria), Ph. (Ae.) karpathana (Karpathos).

Continental distribution.

Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Italy, NW-Anatolia.

Biogeography.

Pontomediterranean faunal element, probably monocentric, with the refugium in the south of the Balkan Peninsula. We assume that the occurrence in Eastern and Central Europe, in Italy, in NW-Anatolia and also on some islands is the result of anthropogenic dispersal, possibly already in antiquity and also presently (H. Aspöck et al. 2017). The populations on Karpathos show slight differences compared to populations from other islands as well as from the continent, maybe due to an immigration long ago.

Figures

Figure 5. a. Ulrike syriaca, ♂. Cyprus, Limassol Forest. Watercolour by Wilhelm Zelenka (1936 - 2011), Vienna. In the possession of H. & U. Aspoeck; b. Raphidia mediterranea, ♂. Upper Austria, Pelmberg near Helmonnsoedt. Foto: H. Bruckner; c. Raphidia mediterranea, ♀. Upper Austria, Pelmberg near Helmonnsoedt. Foto: H. Bruckner; d. Raphidia mediterranea, larva. Upper Austria, Pelmberg near Helmonnsoedt. Foto: H. Bruckner; e. Raphidia ariadne, ♂. Greece, Crete, near Males. Foto: H. Bruckner; f. Raphidia ariadne, ♀. Greece, Crete, Anogia. Foto: H. Bruckner; g. Raphidia ariadne, larva. Greece, Crete, near Males. Foto: H. Bruckner; h. Dichrostigma flavipes, ♂. Lower Austria, Eichkogel near Moedling. Foto: F. Anderle, now Denner.

Figure 11. a. Records of species of the genus Raphidia, R. (R.) mediterranea, R. (R.) beieri, R. (R.) peterressli, R. (R.) mysia, R. (R.) ambigua, and R. (R.) ariadne, on Mediterranean islands; b. Records of species of the family Inocelliidae, Fibla (F.) maclachlani, Fibla (Reisserella) pasiphae, and Parainocellia ressli, on Mediterranean islands.