Empria candidata

Macek, Jan & Kula, Emanuel, 2015, Revisionary study on European species of the Empria candidata complex (Hymenoptera, Symphyta, Tenthredinidae), Zootaxa 3946 (2), pp. 251-260 : 252-253

Empria candidata species complex

Characteristics. Females. Length: 6–8 mm. Color. Black; following parts pale (whitish to yellowish depending on conservation condition); maxillary and labial palps, mandibles (excluding brown tips), labrum, clypeus, malar space, facial and genal orbits, the posterior margin of pronotal lobes, scapus apically, tegulae, patches (large and small) on mesepisternum, coxae in part, trochanter and trochantellus, the apex and upper side of femora, all tibiae and tarsi (excluding brown upper side), posterior margins of terga and sterna; cenchri, paired larger patches on abdominal terga 2–6.

Morphology. Head shiny with fine, dense punctures, and covered with short, dense, pale pubescence; head in dorsal view transverse with temples parallel and rounded posteriorly; postocellar area trapeziform with divergent lateral furrows, twice as wide as long, smooth and glossy; frontal area feebly convex, semi-elliptical with deep frontal furrow; clypeus flat, shiny, with shallowly emarginate anterior margin; face with irregular punctures and fine wrinkles; malar space about 1.5 times longer than diameter of anterior ocellus; antenna a little longer than head and thorax combined; relative lengths of flagellomeres 3–9 are about 1: 0.8: 0.8: 0.7: 0.6: 0.6: 0.6.

Median mesoscutal lobe of mesosoma glossy with very fine sparse punctures; median mesoscutellar groove very fine, but distinct; lateral mesoscutal lobes glossy with very fine sparse punctures; mesoscutellum pentagonal, flat, glossy; scuto-scutellar fovea narrow and sharply angled anteriorly; mesoscutellar appendage smooth and glossy; mesepisternum smooth, with very sparse, fine punctures and short dense pale adpressed pubescence; mesepimeron smooth and glossy, bare; distance between cenchri at least 1.5 times width of cenchrus; metascutellum and metapostnotum glossy with some indistinct fine sculpture; wings hyaline, venation brownish, excluding yellowish Sc+R of fore wings; the vein m-cu in hind wing absent; legs with metatarsus a little shorter than metatibia, metabasitarsus as long as three following tarsomeres combined; inner tibial spur of metatibia one third of the length of the first tarsomere, claws smooth.

Metasoma in fresh specimens cylindrical to suboval with posterior third gradually tapered, terga and sterna finely alutaceous, hypopygium triangular; ovipositor sheath twice as long as cerci; lancet narrow, tapering toward apex and with radix downcurved, the apex of lamnium slightly upcurved, the sutures of annuli straight, serrulae low, slightly projecting and covered with tiny denticles; the penis valve with valvurae curved downward, valviceps with two sharppointed projections dorsally, the anterior projection smaller than posterior one, valvura with distinct lobe at base.

Males. Length: 5–7 mm. In colour and morphology similar to female but more reduced pale pattern on head, thorax and abdomen.

Larvae (last instar). Color. Head yellow with variable black-brown pattern. Body mostly black with scattered white spots on first, third and fifth annulus; the pale spiracles on black background are conspicuous.

Morphology. Head pubescent, setae on genae and frons longer than on vertex; clypeus with four setae, labrum with eight setae, mandible with one seta, stipes with one seta, palpifer with four setae, second article of maxillary palpus with one seta; palpiger with five setae, second article of labial palpus with two setae; body surface granulose, densely covered with tiny conical microtrichia; abdominal segments with six annulets; annulets 1, 2, 4, 6 with tiny setae, annulet 2 with two pale conical glandubae, annulet 4 with three short, pale conical glandubae; spiracles brown, first postspiracular lobe with one glanduba, second postspiracular lobe with one glanduba, subspiracular and surpedal lobes with one glanduba and several small setae; suranal lobe with dense semidecumbent setae; trochanter as long as femur; exterior side of prolegs bare, interior side close to base with tiny setae.