Arge micheli ( Buysson, 1900 )

Koch, Frank, Pauly, Alain, Hora, Zewdu A. & Boevé, Jean-Luc, 2015, Sawflies of Ethiopia (Hymenoptera: Argidae, Tenthredinidae), Zootaxa 4021 (1), pp. 119-155 : 127-129

Arge micheli ( Buysson, 1900)

( Fig. 9 A–E)

Hylotoma micheli Buysson, 1900: 22 . Locus typicus: Abyssinie [ Ethiopia], Mission de Bonchamps. Lectotype hereby designated by F. Koch: ♀. Abyssinie, Mission de Bonchamps, 1899, Ch. Michel (MNHN). Paralectotype: 1 ♀ from the same locality (MNHN).

Arge flavifrons Mocsáry, 1909: 5 , syn. n. Locus typicus: Africa orientalis, Erythrea. Lectotype: ♂. Africa or., Erythraea; hereby designated by F. Koch (HNHM). Paralectotypes: 2 ♂ from the same locality.

Arge transvaalensis Cameron, 1911: 174 , syn. n. Locus typicus: South Africa (Mpumalanga, Waterval). Lectotype hereby designated by F. Koch: ♂. Waterv[al] [25°39'S 030°19'E], 10.XII. [18]99 (BMNH). Paralectotypes: Unknown.

Redescription. Female (Lectotype). Head black with very slight blue metallic lustre, supraclypeal area, gena except for ventral part yellow; antenna black; mandible dark reddish ringed medially. Thorax black with very slight blue metallic lustre, the following yellow: pronotum, postspiracular sclerite, tegula, dorsal half of mesopleuron, anepimeron and metepimeron. Legs black with slight blue metallic lustre, the following yellow: tibiae except for base and apex, ventral surface of basitarsomeres. Wings flavescent-hyaline; fore wing with a very large fuscous substigmal spot and a smaller spot at posterior margin; stigma blackish, venation otherwise completely yellow. Abdomen yellow; terga 1 and 4–7 with two large black spots; sawsheath black. Head conspicuously enlarged behind eyes. Antenna 1.3 × as long as head maximum width; flagellum conspicuously enlarged towards apex, quadrangular in cross section, interior surface with sharply compressed longitudinal carina, other longitudinal carinae weaker compressed. POL: OOL = 1.0: 1.1. Eyes slightly converging downwards. Malar space about as long as diameter of median ocellus. Anterior margin of clypeus shallowly circularly emarginate medially, supraclypeal area roundly protruding up to base of interantennal carinae, interantennal carinae obtusely ridged between antennae, converging downwards, extending about 1/3 of distance to clypeus. Vertex and gena moderately densely micropunctate, shiny; paraantennal area densely punctate, supraclypeal area and clypeus coarsely punctate, moderately shiny; pubescence on vertex yellow, as long as diameter of lateral ocellus. Mesoscutum densely punctate, moderately shiny; pubescence similar to that on head, somewhat shorter. Abdomen irregularly transversely microsculptured, moderately shiny. Sawsheath: Figs 9 A–B. Lancet with 24 serrulae ( Figs 9 C–D).

Length: 10.8–14.7 (Lectotype: 14.5 mm).

Male. Length: 7.5–11.3 mm. Colouration similar to that of female. Head without yellow spots on paraantennal area. Basitarsomeres yellow with black apex and tarsomeres 2 with yellow basal half. Substigmal spot of fore wing is conspicuously weaker developed. Terga 1 and 3(4)–8 with large and almost connected black lateral spots. Head parallel behind eyes. Antenna 1.7 × as long as maximum head width; flagellum negligible enlarged towards apex, triangular in cross section, interior surface with conspicuously compressed longitudinal carina, other longitudinal carinae weaker. Other features as for female. Penis valve: Fig. 9 E.

Distribution. Eritrea, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Host plant. Unknown.

Remarks. The intraspecific variability of A. micheli is obvious in the colour pattern. The colour of the head varies from the described pattern to entirely yellow. On the other hand the black colouration can be more extensive so that only the ventral surface of hind tibia is yellow at base, the pronotum and the tegulae are black spotted and the mesopleron is nearly entirely black. Furthermore, some specimens were found with large black spots on terga 1–8 or the black spots are smaller and reduced to terga 5–7. Arge micheli is among the largest (almost 15.0 mm) and most conspicuous argids of the Afrotropical Region. Revisions of this group of bicoloured species ( A. flavifrons , A. flavifrons var. transvaalensis , A. bequaerti Enslin, 1913 , A. schulthessi Konow, 1899 and A. sjoestedti Konow 1907d ) were given by Enslin (1913a) and (Complexe micheli ) Pasteels (1953). The lectotypes of Arge flavifrons and A. transvaalensis were examined, and it was not possible to find sufficient differences distinguishing them from A. micheli ; thus, they are synonymized.

Figures

FIGURE 9. Arge micheli. A, sawsheath (dorsal view). B, sawsheath (lateral view). C, lancet. D, serrulae 11 – 13. E, penis valve (left, lateral view).