Empria tridentis Lee & Ryu, 1996

Prous, Marko, Heidemaa, Mikk, Akihiko, Shinohara & Soon, Villu, 2011, Review of the sawfly genus Empria (Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae) in Japan, ZooKeys 150, pp. 347-380 : 361

Empria tridentis Lee & Ryu, 1996

Empria tridentis Lee & Ryu, 1996: 23. Type locality: South-Korea, Goseong-gun Hyangnobong, 38.3167N 128.3E. Holotype female, YUIC [examined].

Taxonomic affinities.

Morphologically, no close relatives can be identified, but in the phylogenetic analysis of the ITS and mtDNA sequences combined, the species appears as a sister of the longicornis-group (Fig. 40). Superficially may resemble Empria longicornis , from which Empria tridentis can easily be distinguished by tegulae, base of metatibia, trochanters, and trochantelli pale (all black in Empria longicornis ), and by very different structure of lancets and penis valves.

Host plants.

Unknown.

Distribution.

East Palaearctic. Specimens studied are from Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu), Russia (Khabarovsk Krai, Primorsky Krai), and South-Korea.

Notes.

The original description of this species states that there are "a pair of large flecks on lateral portion of lst– 4th tergite" ( Lee and Ryu 1996), while actually no specimen studied (including the holotype) has pale patches ("large flecks") on first tergite. There is one male (NSMT018) from Honshu (Nagano) with penis valve slightly different (see http://www.morphbank.net/?id=592669) from all the other studied males, but the material is currently insufficient to decide if the specimen is aberrant or represents a separate (sibling) species.