Euura saliciscinereae : Noblecourt 2016

Euura saliciscinereae (Retzius, 1783)

Tenthredo saliciscinereae Retzius, 1783: 73 [by indication on Degeer 1771: p. 1013, tab. 38 figs 26–31]. Syntypes, ♀ and ♂, probably lost or destroyed [see Vikberg & Zinovjev 2006]. The neotype of Nematus gallarum [see below] is hereby designated as neotype of Tenthredo saliciscinereae. Type locality: Sweden, near Uppsala. See Blank et al. (2009) on availability of the name.

Pontania saliciscinereae: Blank et al. (2009).

Pontania (Eupontania) saliciscinereae: Taeger et al. (2010).

Euura (Eupontania) saliciscinereae: Noblecourt (2016).

Tenthredo salicis Christ, 1791: 453. Described by indication on Degeer (1771, t. 38 f. 26–31). Primary homonym of Tenthredo salicis Linnaeus, 1758 [Euura salicis (L.)].

Nematus gallarum Hartig, 1837: 220 –221 Described by indication on Götze 1779: p. 274, tab. 38 figs 26–31. Neotype, ♀, designated by Vikberg & Zinovjev 2006, NHRS [examined]. Type locality: Sweden, Uppland, Norrtälje. Secondary homonym in Euura of Tenthredo gallarum Latreille, 1804 [= E. amerinae]. Synonymy with saliciscinereae by Blank et al. (2009).

Nematus acerosus Hartig, 1840 [mandatory correction of incorrect original spelling acerosum]: 26. Described: ♀. Lectotype, ♀, designated below, ZSM [examined]. Type locality: northern Germany. Synonymy with Pontania viminalis by Beneš et al. (1981). Syn. nov.

Nematus saliceti Förster, 1854a: 336 –338. Described by indication on Degeer (1771: p. 1013, tab. 38 figs 26–31) and Hartig (1837: 220, n. 55) [the latter based on indication of the same taxon in Degeer's work] and also ♀ syntypes collected near Aachen. The latter should be in the ZSM, but are thought to be lost. Kriechbaumer (1876) treated N. saliceti as a synonym of N. gallarum, Dalla Torre (1894) as a synonym of N. viminalis (L.). Both these opinions were probably based on Förster's citation of the work of Degeer, which is now considered to refer to E. saliciscinereae, but was interpreted in various different ways by earlier authors. Described by indication on the same work, the neotype of Nematus gallarum (see above) is also the neotype of N. saliceti Förster.

Nematus aestivus Thomson, 1863: 638. Described: ♀, ♂. Lectotype, ♀, designated by Kopelke (1991), MZLU [examined]. Type locality: Sweden, Jämtland, Skalstugan. Synonymy with gallarum by Vikberg & Zinovjev (2006).

Pontania (Eupontania) aestiva: Zinovjev (1993b).

Nematus cinereae Thomson, 1871: 160 –161. New name for T. saliciscinereae Retzius.

? Pontania harrisoni Benson, 1940a: 91 –94. Described: ♀, ♂, gall, recorded host: Salix purpurea and its hybrids. Lectotype, ♀, designated by Vikberg & Zinovjev (2006), BMNH [examined]. Type locality: Scotland, Roxburghshire, Newcastleton.

Pontania (Eupontania) aestiva harrisoni: Zinovjev (1993b).

Pontania varia Kopelke, 1991: 121 –124. Described: ♀, ♂, larva, gall, recorded hosts: Salix nigricans, S. nigricans ssp. alpicola, and diverse hybrids. Holotype, ♀, SMF [examined]. Type locality: Switzerland, Valais, Les Hauderes. Synonymy with gallarum by Vikberg & Zinovjev (2006).

Pontania norvegica Kopelke, 1991: 120 –121. Described: ♀, ♂, larva, gall, recorded host: Salix borealis and diverse hybrids. Holotype, ♀, SMF [examined]. Type locality: Norway, Troms, Ramfjorden. Synonymy with aestivus by Zinovjev (1993b).

Notes on types and taxonomy. N. acerosus. Lectotype, ♀, hereby designated, ZSM; labels: "Type" [red], "acerosum n.", " Nematus acerosus Th. Hartig det.", " Pontania viminalis ♀ E. Clément det.", " Nematus viminalis L. ♀ O. Conde det. 1939", "GBIF-GISHym3188", "Sammlung Th. Hartig", " Euura saliciscinereae (Retzius) ♀ det. A. Liston 2016", " Lectotype Nematus acerosum Hartig, 1840 des. A. Liston 2016". The lectotype has long antennae (approx. 2x as long as width of head), largely black metafemora and in dorsal view rather narrow valvulae 3. This character combination, in conjunction with the provenance of the lectotype, only fits E. saliciscinereae. Accordingly, we treat acerosus as its synonym.

P. harrisoni. Kopelke (1999) assumed that the actual host was S. phylicifolia × purpurea, and placed harrisoni as a synonym of arcticornis. Probably he based this decision partly on the irregular shape of the galls of harrisoni (as in arcticornis). On the other hand, Zinovjev (1993b) stated that the hosts were " Salix purpurea and its hybrids with Salix viminalis " and treated harrisoni as a subspecies of aestiva [current name saliciscinereae]. Vikberg & Zinovjev (2006) treated it as a (British) subspecies of gallarum [= saliciscinereae]. Both sexes of E. harrisoni differ from typical E. saliciscinereae by their longer antennae and longer pubescence on the frons, as well as by the dark inner orbits and malar spaces of the male (Zinovjev 1993b). It does not seem unlikely that the British population represents a geographical form of saliciscinereae, but we do not think that it is at present justifiable to treat harrisoni formally as a subspecies, without much stronger data on their relationships.

Variability. Female: Body length: 2.8–5.4mm. Coloration extremely variable. The palest specimens are from Germany (Black Forest), but some specimens from Norway (S-Trøndelag) are nearly as pale. The pale German specimens have: head yellow except for patch around ocelli reaching forwards to toruli and back to cover postocellar area; upper surface of antennal flagellum basally black; scape and pedicel black; entire pronotum and tegula pale; lateral margin of median mesoscutal lobe pale; two large spots on anterior of mesoscutellum (leaving a black anchor-shaped marking); nearly whole upper half of mesepisternum pale; legs entirely pale except for bases of coxae and more or less tarsomeres 2–5; all abdominal sterna and downturned flanks of terga pale. The darkest specimens are from northern Norway (e.g. the holotype of P. norvegica): pale are only clypeus and labrum, tegula, distal ca. fifth of femora, part of hypopygium and valvifer 2. Male: 3.0– 5.3mm. Colour pattern darker than female and less variable. Antennal flagellum nearly entirely pale, to entirely black. Supraclypeal area and malar space partly pale to entirely black. Upper outer orbit partly pale to entirely black. Pronotum pale margined to entirely black. Tegula pale to black. Femora entirely pale to partly infuscate. Abdominal sterna entirely pale to entirely black except for pale sternum 9. Total number of specimens examined: 22.

Genetic data. The short BOLD COI barcode sequence will not separate saliciscinereae from the other eleven North European species with closely similar barcodes (acutifoliae, arcticornis, brevicornis, etc.), but it is distinct in ITS2 sequences (Leppänen et al. 2014).

Bionomics. Host plants: Salix myrsinifolia (Vikberg & Zinovjev 2006), including the synonymous forms / subspecies borealis and alpicola (Zinovjev 1994, Leppänen et al. 2014). Biology: Nyman & Julkunen Tiitto (2000; as P. aestiva on S. borealis), Zinovjev (1994, as P. aestiva).

Distribution. Central and North Europe (Kopelke 1991), to the Urals (Zhelochovtsev & Zinovjev 1995). Occurrence in Sweden: published records; Skåne (Wahlgren 1944, as Pontania viminalis on Salix nigricans), Västergötland (Lundberg 1966, as P. viminalis on S. nigricans), Dalarna (Vikberg & Zinovjev 2006). Material examined: Dalarna, Västerbotten.