Mecinus laeviceps Tournier, 1873
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publication ID |
https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.939.50612 |
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publication LSID |
lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B2397011-4888-4712-880E-1069C943AD33 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/001C3D5C-8F13-55A2-8124-E4A453F6A0D7 |
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treatment provided by |
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scientific name |
Mecinus laeviceps Tournier, 1873 |
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Mecinus laeviceps Tournier, 1873
Material examined.
8 L3 larvae and 10 pupae, Serbia, Slankamen, 22.06.2017 45°08.343'N, 20°15.042'E, 177 m., ex Linaria genistifolia , lgt. I. Toševski. Accession numbers of sequenced specimen MN992003.
Description of mature larva
(Figures 31A-D View Figure 31 , 32A-F View Figure 32 ). Measurements (in mm). Body length: 1.67-2.67. Body width (abdominal segments I-II): 0.37-0.83. Head width: 0.30-0.40.
Body (Figure 31A-D View Figure 31 ) yellowish, slender. Chaetotaxy rather weakly developed, setae capilliform, variable in length, light yellow. Prothorax (Figure 31B View Figure 31 ) with nine prns of unequal length (eight relatively long, one medium); two long ps and one medium eus. Meso- and metathorax (Figure 31B View Figure 31 ) with one short prs, two pds, different in length (medium, long), one short as, three short ss, one medium eps, one medium ps and one medium eus. Pedal area with three pda, different in length. Abdominal segments I-VIII (Figure 31C, D View Figure 31 ) with one short prs, three pds of different length (pds1,3 short, pds2 medium; all pds on segment VIII very long, equal in length), arranged along the posterior margin, two short ss, two short eps, one medium ps, one short lsts and two short eus. Abdominal segment IX (Figure 31D View Figure 31 ) with two long ds, located close to posterior margin, one long ps and two short sts. Each lateral anal lobe with one minute seta.
Head capsule (Figures 31A View Figure 31 , 32A-F View Figure 32 ) light yellow, distinctly narrowed bilaterally. Des1-3,5 long, equal in length; des4 very short; des4 located in the central part of epicranium. Fs3 short to very short, fs4,5 long, equal in length. Les1 and les2 long, equal in length; two ves and one pes very short (Figure 32A View Figure 32 ). Antenna (Figure 32B View Figure 32 ) with sensorium (Se) conical, three times as long as wide, and three sensilla: one sa and two sb. Clypeus (Figure 32C View Figure 32 ) trapezium-shaped, anterior margin slightly concave; cls2 medium; clss placed close to cls2. Labrum (Figure 32C View Figure 32 ) almost semi-circular, anterior margin sinuated; lrs1 long, both lrs2 and lrs3 medium. Epipharynx (Figure 32D View Figure 32 ) with three finger-like als of almost equal length; two finger-like ams, both medium; two short finger-like mes, surface smooth; labral rods short, kidney-shaped. Mandibles (Figure 32E View Figure 32 ) conical, wide, with a small protuberance in the middle of the cutting edge; both mds capilliform, medium, equal in length, placed transversely. Maxilla (Figure 32F View Figure 32 ) with one stps and two pfs of equal length; mbs short; mala with six rod-like dms different in length (dms1,2 medium, dms3-6 long to very long), five vms different in length. Maxillary palpi: basal palpomere wider than distal, both of almost equal length. Prelabium (Figure 32F View Figure 32 ) oval-shaped with one long prms; ligula with two short ligs; premental sclerite clearly visible, U-shaped. Postlabium (Figure 32F View Figure 32 ) with very short pms1, long pms2, and medium pms3.
Description of pupa
(Figure 33A-C View Figure 33 ). Measurements (in mm). Head width: 0.35-0.40. Body width: 0.87-1.07. Body length: 2.12-2.50.
Body elongated, white. Rostrum slender, about four times as long as wide, reaching up to mesocoxae. Antennae slender and elongated. Pronotum 1.5 times as wide as long. Urogomphi (ur) very short, conical, with sclerotised apex, only slightly reaching outline of the body, directed downward (Figure 33B, C View Figure 33 ).
Chaetotaxy sparse, setae short, unequal length. Head with one os. Rostrum with one rs and one pas. Setae on head and rostrum straight, as long as those on prothorax (Figure 33A View Figure 33 ). Pronotum with one as, one ls, one ds and three pls. Dorsal parts of meso- and metathorax with three setae placed medially. Abdominal segments I-VIII with three very short setae ventrally, distributed in regular lines. Dorsal parts of abdominal segments I-VII with five setae (d1 placed anteromedially, d2-4 posteromedially, d5 posterolaterally); segment VIII with four setae dorsally. Abdominal segment IX with two micro-setae ventrally.
Biological notes.
This is a monophagous species associated with broomleaf toadflax, Linaria genistifolia (L.) Mill. The adults are active from early spring, following the appearance of the growing shoots of its host plant. The adults feed intensively on shoot points and apical leaves. Females oviposit batches of 3-6 eggs into the lower to middle part of the young growing shoots. Larval development usually induces stunted growth in the young shoot. The larvae develop in the central part of the stem, forming a relatively short tunnel and the formation of a pseudo-gall in which pupation takes place in the larval chamber very close to the stem surface. Like M. heydenii , the adults stay inside the stem until mid-August, when all adults leave their host plants. Adults overwinter in the soil close to the host plant.
Remarks and comparative notes.
There are three cryptic subspecies of this species that are distinguishable by molecular and biogeographical data ( Toševski et al. 2014). We studied the nominal subspecies distributed in the Czech Republic, Hungary, northern Serbia, and southern Russia; the subspecies meridionalis Toševski & Jović, 2014 is distributed in Serbia and Bulgaria and the subspecies corifoliae Toševski & Jović, 2014 is distributed in Turkey. As reported in the remarks on M. heydenii , several characters allow us to distinguish this last species and M. peterharrisi from M. laeviceps .
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
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