Puklina depilata Graham, 1991

Delvare, G., Escolà, A. Ribes, Stojanova, A. M., Benoit, L., Lecomte, J. & Askew, R. R., 2019, Exploring insect biodiversity: the parasitic Hymenoptera, chiefly Chalcidoidea, associated with seeds of asphodels (Xanthorrhoeaceae), with the description of nine new species belonging to Eurytomidae and Torymidae, Zootaxa 4597 (1), pp. 1-90 : 75-77

Puklina depilata Graham, 1991

( Figs 33 A–D)

Puklina depilata Graham, 1991: 166 ‒167 . Original description ♀ ♂. France: Hérault, Bel Air [Juvignac, near Montpellier]; ex seeds of A. cerasiferus .

= Puklina dillerae Doğanlar, 1993: 390 –392 . Original description ♀ ♂. France: Corse, ex seeds of A. ramosus [aestivus]. Syn. n.

= Puklina asphodelinae Boyadzhiev, 2003: 534 –537 . Original description ♀ ♂. Bulgaria: Rhodope Mts, Besapari Hills, 2 km W Novo slo Village, ex seeds Asphodeline lutea . Syn. n.

Material examined. Type material. Puklina depilata . Holotype ♀ (BMNH type 5-3571) and 3 ♂ paratypes (NHMUK010208770-772). Puklina dilleri . Paratype ♂ labelled 'Etang de Bignalia 15.XI.64 10.VII.65 Asph. aestiv. Trüchte' [manuscript] / ' PARATYPE ♂ Puklina dilleri Doğanlar Doğanlar 1991 ' (in ZSM). Puklina asphodelinae . Paratypes (3 ♀ 1 ♂) labelled ' Bulgaria: Rhodope Mts. Besapari Hills, 2 km W Novo Selo Village, 250 m 19.III.2002 ' leg P. Boyadzhiev' [print] / 'Reared from capsules of Asphodeline lutea Reichenb. (Liliaceae) with Eurytoma asphodeli Hedqvist (Hym., Eurytomidae ), 28.V.2002 ' [print] / ' Puklina asphodelinae Boyadzhiev [print] / ' Paratype ' [red label].

Other material. BULGARIA: Rhodope Mountains, 2 km S Novo Selo, 300 m, 42.09361°N 24.47083°E, ex seeds Asphodeline lutea , 26.vi.2010 (A. Stojanova ) (19 ♀ 8 ♂, in RAPC) . FRANCE: Bouches-du-Rhône, La Ciotat , 36 m, 43.19861°N 5.63138°E, 12.vi.2010, 28.iv.2011 ex seeds of A. cerasiferus , (H. Dumas) (7 ♀ 5 ♂, 3 ♀ in RAPC, 4 ♀ 5 ♂ in MNCN; 4 ♀ 1 ♂ in GDPC) ; Corse, Aléria , Vaccaja , 20 m, 42.12861°N 9.46556°E, ex seeds of A. ramosus , 22.ix.2001, adults emerged 25.iv/ 15.v.2012, (J. Balajas) (165 ♀ 12 ♂, in GDPC) ; Corse, Linguizetta , 50 m, 42.28194°N 9.51722°E, same asphodel, collecting date and collector (99 ♀ 6 ♂, in GDPC) ; Hérault, Cazevieille, 295 m, 43.77086°N 3.78372°E, ex seeds of A. cerasiferus , 05.viii.1984 (G. Delvare ) (5 ♀, in GDPC) ; Montpellier, CIRAD campus, 06.viii.1985 (G. Delvare ) (1 ♀, in GDPC) ; GREECE: Peloponnese, Haraûgi, ex seeds of A. ramosus , 14.iv.2003 (H. Schnee ) (4 ♀ 1 ♀ in RAPC) ; ITALY: Sicilia, Vizzini, Monte Iblei, SE Lago Dirillo , contrado Rubalé , 350 m, 37.12103°N 14.72166°E, ex seeds of A. ramosus , 21.vi.2014, adult emergence v.2015 (G. Delvare ) (185 ♀ 17 ♂, in GDPC) ; same locality, asphodel and collector, 350 m, 37.12103°N 14.72166°E, 22.vi.2014 (153 ♀ 20 ♂, in GDPC) ; same city and collector, SE Vizzini, Valle Paradiso , 600 m, 37.14727°N 14.80591°E, ex seeds of Asphodeline lutea , 21.vi.2014 adults emerged 07–15.iv.2015 (11 ♀ 1 ♂, in GDPC) ; SPAIN: Andalusia, Lanjaron, ex seed of Asphodelus sp., 23.iv.2004 (H. Schnee ) (11 ♀ 1 ♂, 1 ♀ 1 ♂ in RAPC) ; Huesca, Fraga , 125 m, 41.41892°N 0.10911°E, ex seeds of A.cerasiferus , 26.vi.2009, 15.iii.2010 & 29.iii.2011 (A. Ribes) (138 ♀ 112 ♂ 138 unsexed, 5 ♀ 1 ♂ in MNCN, 3 ♂ in RAPC) ; Lleida, Aitona , 120 m, 41.46338°N 0.46632°E, 17.vi.2009, 13.iii.2010, 15.vi.2010, 23.vii.2010, 19.iii.2011, 9.vi.2011 (A. Ribes) (1697 ♀ 543 ♂, 46 ♀ 23 ♂ in RAPC, 5 ♀ 5 ♂ in MNCN . Madrid, Aranjuez , ex seed Asphodelus sp., 8.xii.2005 (R. R. Askew) (5 ♀ 1 ♂, in RAPC).

Comments. Boyadzhiev (2003), in describing P. asphodelinae , provided a detailed account of Puklina with a key to both sexes of all described species. He distinguished the females of P. depilata from those of P. asphodelinae and P. dillerae by the relative proportions of the gaster, but our examination of extensive material showed that there is considerable variation in this character, even within populations from the same area. Males of the above species were separated by Boyadzhiev (loc. cit.) mainly based on the relative length of the ventral plaque of the scape but again we observed some variation in this character which forms a continuum with overlap between populations. The examination of genitalia of males collected respectively in Southern France [at a place close to the type locality], Corse, Sicilia and Bulgaria [paratype of P. asphodelinae ] showed them to be conspecific ( Fig. 33D ). Precise measurements from slide mountings of the antennal segments and of the long setae of males, from the above localities, did not reveal differences that could separate additional taxa, and for these reasons P. dillerae Doğanlar and P. asphodelinae Boyadzhiev are synonymized here with P. depilata Graham.

Biology. Trophic relationships ( Figs 41 , 42 , 44 ). Boyadzhiev & Stojanova (2008) give details of the biology of P. depilata [under P. asphodelinae ] in Bulgaria. Dissection of seeds of Asphodeline lutea revealed Puklina larvae developing gregariously and ectophagously on larvae of a seed-eating eurytomid. The host is named as a Eurytoma sp. ( rosae group), but from the description given it is clearly the species here described as Bruchophagus asphodelinae . Usually 5 to 15 Puklina larvae develop on a single Bruchophagus larva, but our data on individual brood size and composition is limited to one brood of 13 males, one of 6 males and 13 females and another of 3 males and 16 females P. depilata , all in seeds of A. cerasiferus . We have obtained P. depilata from A. cerasiferus ( France and Spain), A. ramosus ( Corse, Sicilia and Greece) and unidentified Asphodelus ( Spain) , but not from A. albus albus , A. a. delphinensis or A. fistulosus .

Sex ratio. Adult sex ratio was 3.45 ♀: 1 ♂

Phenology. Based on over 3000 specimens of P. depilata emerged from seeds of A. cerasiferus collected in Spain (Huesca, Lleida), we have identified two emergence periods, from late June to September in the first year of the host fruit and, after overwintering, from the end of May to mid-June in the second year of the fruit. Insects emerging after overwintering tend to be darker.

Figures

FIGURES 33A–F. A–D. Puklina depilata Graham, ex A. ramosus from Aléria, Vaccaja, Corse, France. A–C, ♀; D, ♂. E–F. Puklina gelincika Doğanlar, paratype ♀ from Sivas, Turkey. A, habitus. B, antenna. C, head and mesosoma in dorsal view. D, genitalia. E, mesosoma in dorsal view. F, metasoma in dorsal view.

FIGURE 41. Trophic web of A. cerasiferus. Horizontal scale bars proportional to the numbers of reared specimens examined that are indicated in the bars. Arrows pointing out the direction of the trophic relationships: from phytophagous Bruchophagus spp. to the asphodel and from parasitoids to chalcid hosts.The estimated number of Bruchophagus abscedus parasitized by P. depilata was estimated considering that a mean of 10 Puklina emerge from a larva of Bruchophagus.

FIGURE 42. Trophic web of A. ramosus. Horizontal scale bars proportional to the numbers of reared specimens examined that are indicated in the bars. Arrows pointing out the direction of the trophic relationships: from phytophagous Bruchophagus spp. to the asphodel and from parasitoids to chalcid hosts. The estimated number of Bruchophagus abscedus parasitized by P. depilata was estimated considering that a mean of 10 Puklina emerge from a larva of Bruchophagus.

FIGURE 44. Trophic web of Asphodeline lutea. Horizontal scale bars proportional to the numbers of reared specimens examined that are indicated in the bars. Arrows pointing out the direction of the trophic relationships: from phytophagous Bruchophagus spp. to the asphodel and from parasitoids to chalcid hosts.