Pristiphora aphantoneura ( Foerster , 1854)

Prous, Marko, Vikberg, Veli, Liston, Andrew & Kramp, Katja, 2016, North-Western Palaearctic species of the Pristiphora ruficornis group (Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae), Journal of Hymenoptera Research 51, pp. 1-54 : 14-15

Pristiphora aphantoneura ( Foerster, 1854)

Tenthredo fulvipes Fallén, 1808: 113. Primary homonym of Tenthredo fulvipes Scopoli, 1763 [= Aglaostigma (Astochus) fulvipes (Scopoli, 1763)]. Lectotype ♀ (designated by Vikberg 2006) in MZLU, examined. Type locality: Sweden.

Nematus aphantoneurus Förster, 1854: 323-325. Lectotype ♀ (DEI-GISHym31561; designated by Vikberg 2006) in ZSM, examined. Type locality: Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Cryptocampus distinctus Costa, 1882: 198. Syntype(s) ♀ possibly in MZUN, not examined. Type locality: Oschiri, Sardinia, Italy. Note. Identity of the type(s) is uncertain, could be P. luteipes .

Pristiphora pygmaea Lindqvist, 1964: 130. Holotype ♀ in MZH, examined. Type locality: Helsinki, Finland.

Similar species.

The most similar species is P. luteipes , from which it cannot be always distinguished morphologically. Vikberg (2006) mentions that the mesepisternum is completely smooth unlike in P. luteipes , which should show at least slightly coriaceous sculpture (Fig. 19 and Fig. 6a in Vikberg 2006). However, P. luteipes can also have a completely smooth mesepisternum, especially in southern European specimens. See Vikberg (2006) for additional minor characters for separating these species. Males are unknown.

Genetic data.

Based on a COI barcode sequence of one confidently identified specimen (reared ex ovo from Lathyrus pratensis ) from Finland (DEI-GISHym80037), it belongs to the same BIN cluster (BOLD:AAG3568) as P. bifida , P. confusa , P. luteipes , P. opaca , P. pusilla , P. staudingeri , and P. subopaca (Fig. 1 ). The nearest neighbour (BOLD:AAQ2302, P. armata and P. leucopus ) is 2.76% different. Amplification of TPI of the specimen DEI-GISHym80037 failed, but we were able to obtain this nuclear sequence for one specimen from Estonia (DEI-GISHym31258) which had a nearly identical COI barcode (one nucleotide difference). Because the mesepisternum of this female was completely smooth, we identified it as P. aphantoneura . If this is correct, then TPI sequence data would be consistent in separating P. aphantoneura from closely related P. luteipes feeding on Salix (Fig. 2 ), although more specimens and some other nuclear sequences should be sampled to confirm this.

Host plants.

Lathyrus pratensis L. ( Vikberg 2006).

Distribution and material examined.

Palaearctic. Specimens studied are from Estonia, Finland, and Germany.

Figures

Figure 1. Maximum likelihood tree of Pristiphora ruficornis group based on cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences (1078 bp). Specimens that had at least the full barcode sequence (658 bp) were included in the analysis. Branches with multiple specimen identification labels represent identical sequences, only one of which was used in the analysis. Numbers on the nodes show approximate likelihood-ratio test (aLRT) support values and bootstrap proportions (%, BP). Support values for weakly supported branches (aLRT <0.9 and / or BP <70) are not shown. The inset shows the tree with outgroup species. The scale bar shows the number of estimated substitutions per nucleotide position. An asterisk (*) indicates the specimens that we have not studied. AUT, Austria; CAN, Canada; CHN, China; DEU, Germany; ESP, Spain; EST, Estonia; FIN, Finland; FRA, France; GBR, United Kingdom; ITA, Italy; MAR, Morocco; NOR, Norway; PRT, Portugal; SWE, Sweden; USA, United States of America. NUMTs?, possible nuclear mitochondrial pseudogenes.

Figure 2. Maximum likelihood tree of Pristiphora ruficornis group based on triose-phosphate isomerase (TPI) sequences (alignment length 842 bp). Branches with multiple specimen identification labels represent identical sequences, only one of which was used in the analysis. Numbers on the nodes show approximate likelihood-ratio test (aLRT) support values and bootstrap proportions (%, BP). Support values for weakly supported branches (aLRT <0.9 and / or BP <70) are not shown. The scale bar shows the number of estimated substitutions per nucleotide position.