Fidiobia synergorum (Kieffer, 1921)

Popovici, Ovidiu Alin, Masner, Lubomir, Lahey, Zachary & Talamas, Elijah, 2022, Revision of the Palearctic species of Fidiobia Ashmead (Hymenoptera, Platygastroidea), Journal of Hymenoptera Research 92, pp. 23-144 : 23

25. Fidiobia synergorum (Kieffer, 1921)

Figs 241-247 , 248-252 , 294 , 295 , 322

Fahringeria synergorum Kieffer, 1921: 69; Kieffer 1926: 844; Maneval 1940: 117; Masner and Huggert 1989: 69.

Platyllotropa gallicola Szelényi, 1938: 126; Maneval 1940: 115; Oglobin 1944: 156; Kozlov 1971: 61; Masner and Huggert 1989: 69.

Fidiobia synergorum : Masner and Huggert 1989: 67, 69; Buhl 1999a: 18; Buhl 1999b: 12; Evans and Peña 2005: 62; Popovici and Buhl 2010: 1151.

Description.

Female. Body length: 0.8-0.9 mm. Colour of body: melanic (Figs 241 , 242 ).

Head (Fig. 243 ). Colour of head: brown. Sculpture of head: alutaceous. Sculpture of occiput: alutaceous. Ocellar prominence: present. Preocellar depression: absent. Paraocellar depressions: absent. OOL / ocellar diameter: OOL around 2 times ocellar diameter. Orientation of lower half of inner orbits: visibly divergent. Sculpture of frons immediately anterior to ocellus: alutaceous. Sculpture of frons immediately dorsal to toruli: the same as the rest of frons, but more transverse. Epitorular carina: present. Distance between toruli: smaller than the transverse diameter of torulus. Setation of clypeus: two setae. Malar sulcus: absent. Antenna (Fig. 245 ). Colour of A1: brown. Colour of clava: almost similar to the rest of antenna. Number of antennomeres: nine. Shape of A1: more or less cylindrical. Ventral (inner) lamella on A1: absent. Length of A3 of female: distinctly shorter than A2. Sensillar formula (A7:A8:A9): 2:2:1.

Mesosoma (Figs 241 , 243 , 244 ). Colour of mesosoma: brown. Mesosoma: strongly compressed dorsoventrally. Pronotum in dorsal view: narrow, collarlike. Transverse pronotal sulcus: present as a narrow groove along of anterior rim of pronotum. Posteroventral end of transverse pronotal sulcus: not dilated. Lateral pronotal area: entirely sculptured. Antero-admedian line: absent. Mesoscutum: flat. Parapsidal lines: absent. Sculpture of internotaular area: absent. Notauli: absent. Shape of notauli: NA. Outer edge of notauli: NA. Orientation of inner edge of notauli: NA. Length of notauli: NA. Length of notaulus / maximum width of notaulus: NA. Distance between notauli: NA. Transscutal articulation: complete. Scuto-scutellar sulcus: absent. Fovea on scuto-scutellar sulcus: NA. Mesoscutellum: flat. Shape of mesoscutellum: subrectangular. Axillular carina: posterior apex of axillular carinae not abutting posterior edge of mesoscutellum. Axilloaxillular carina: absent. Sculpture of mesoscutellum: absent. Posterior mesoscutellar sulcus: absent. Metascutellum: not visible, covered by mesoscutellum. Metascutellar carina: absent. Width of metasomal depression: greater than the length of lateral propodeal carina. Median carina between lateral propodeal carinae: absent. Transverse carina between lateral propodeal carinae: present. Foamy structure on transverse carina between lateral propodeal carinae: absent. Foamy structure on metasomal depression: absent. Lateral propodeal carinae: divergent posteriorly. Foamy structure on lateral propodeal carina: absent. Plica: visible. Posterior end of plica: converging with metapleural carina. Foamy structure on plica: absent. Foamy structure on metapleural carina: absent. Foamy structure on ventral metapleural area: absent. Setation of dorsal metapleural area: absent. Setation of ventral metapleural area: absent. Longitudinal striation on dorsal mesopleuron: present. Transepisternal line: complete, straight (Fig. 244 ). Mesopleural carina: absent. Metapleural sulcus: present, complete. Wings (Fig. 247a, b ): macropterous. Apex of fore wing: rounded. Colour of fore wing: transparent. Transverse brown band on fore wing: absent. Submarginal vein in fore wing: present. Length of submarginal vein in fore wing: not surpassing basal 1/4 of fore wing. Spectral veins on fore wing: absent. Marginal setae of fore wing: present, well visible. Disc of fore wing: with spinulose microtrichia. Legs. Colour of fore tibia: brown, with lighter basal and apical ends. Colour of fore tarsus: yellow with darker pretarsus. Colour of middle femora: brown with lighter basal and apical ends. Colour of middle tibiae: brown with lighter basal and apical ends. Colour of middle tarsus: yellow with darker pretarsus. Colour of hind femora: yellow. Colour of hind tibiae: brown with lighter basal and apical ends. Colour of hind tarsus: yellow with darker pretarsus.

Metasoma (Figs 241 , 251 ): posterior of T2 some or all tergites may be retracted under T2. Shape of T1: subrectangular. Colour of T1: brown. Lateral setae of T1: 2 pairs. Colour of T2: brown. Shape of T2: longer than wide. Anterior pits of T2: distinctly separated. Sculpture of T2, lateral to anterior pits of T2: absent. Colour of T3-T6: T3-T5 the same as T2, T6 lighter.

Male. similar to female, but different in the structure of the antenna (Fig. 246 ).

Material examined.

73♀ and 20♂. Greece : 1♀, Kerkini Mts. , near Neo Petritsi, 41.3251°N, 23.2500°E, 26.v-1.vi.2008, leg. Ramel G. (MT), (OPPC0825) .

Hungary: 1♀, Hym. Typ. No. 3373. Mus. Budapest, holotype of Platyllotropa gallicola Szelènyi, Szentendre, Izbég, 47.682°N, 19.043°E,?. vii.1931, leg. Szelènyi G. (ex. Aphelonyx cerricola Gir.) (Figs 248-252 ) .

Norway: 1♀, Buskerud, Rollag, Bråtåsen, 60.0188°N, 9.2493°E, 1-31.viii.1994, leg. Hansen L.O. (MT) .

Slovakia: 54♀, 19♂, Banska Stiavnica , 48.44°N, 18.89°E, 18.vii.1955 (leg. Capek M.) (reared from Aphelonyx cerricola ) (NMPC) ; 2♀ and 1♂, Banska Stiavnica , 48.44°N, 18.89°E, 18.vii.1955, reared from Aphelonyx cerricola , leg. Capek M., (OPPC0799; OPPC0800 and OPPC0798) .

Ukraine: 8♀, Transcarpathia reg., Tyachiv distr. , 6.5 km N of Mala Ugolka, 48.2609°N, 23.6169°E, 12-31.v.2015, beech forest, leg. Varga O. (MT), (OPPC0163, OPPC0164, OPPC0159, OPPC0160, OPPC0178, OPPC0217, OPPC0218, OPPC0824) ; 2♀, Transcarpathia reg., Svydovets , 2-3 km NW of Kvasy, 48.1524°N, 24.2662°E, 7.v-5.vi.2014, beech forest, leg Varga O. (TT) (OPPC0229, OPPC0231) ; 3♀, Transcarpathia reg., Svydovets , 2-3 km NW of Kvasy, 48.1524°N, 24.2662°E, 5-29.vi.2014, beech forest, leg Varga O. (TT) (OPPC0143, OPPC0147, OPPC0187) ; 1♀, Mochary reg., 5 km NE of Bogorodchany, 48.8475°N, 24.5908°E, 8-22.v.2015, mixed forest, leg. Varga O. (MT) (OPPC0162) .

Distribution.

Austria ( Kieffer 1926), Greece, Hungary, Norway, Slovakia, Ukraine (Fig. 322 ).

Biology.

This species was reportedly reared from Synergus gallaepomiformis Fonscolombe ( Hymenoptera : Cynipidae ) on Quercus sp., Biorhiza pallida Olivier ( Hymenoptera : Cynipidae ) on Quercus sp., and Aphelonyx cerricola Gir. ( Hymenoptera : Cynipidae ) ( Vlug 1995), but a direct connection among F. synergorum and these cynipids was not established through dissections. This species seems to prefer forested habitats rather than grassland. In Ukraine it was collected in beech and mixed forests and the most effective methods were the trunk mounted trap and Malaise trap.

Diagnosis.

Fidiobia synergorum is conspicuous because the body is strongly depressed dorsoventrally, the transepisternal line is straight and almost complete (Fig. 244 ), T1 is strongly transverse, almost rectangular and the median carina between the lateral propodeal carinae is absent (Fig. 295 ). Fidiobia synergorum may be confused with F. hispanica but can be easily separated from that species by the different number of antennomeres (nine in F. synergorum and ten in F. hispanica ), transepisternal line (absent, or at most as a trace in F. hispanica ) and by the median carina between the lateral propodeal carinae (present in F. hispanica ).

Comments.

In most Fidiobia with a 9-merous antenna, T1 is trapezoidal, whereas a transverse and almost rectangular T1 is characteristic for species of Fidiobia with 10-merous antennae. The knob of the submarginal vein of the fore wing is visibly curved downward as in species of Acerotella Masner. Specimens belong to this species were observed with the 8-merous teratological antennae (symphysis - A3-A4) ( Popovici and Buhl 2010). In the Palearctic region, a similarly depressed body can be found in Allotropa helenae (Kozlov).

Figures

Figures 241 - 247. Fidiobia synergorum: 241 habitus, dorsal view (OPPC 0217) 242 habitus, lateral view 243 head and mesosoma, dorsal view 244 mesosoma, lateral view 245 antenna (♀) (OPPC 0800) 246 antenna (♂) (OPPC 0798) 247 wings (OPPC 0824) 247 b WIP.

Figures 248 - 252. Holotype of Platyllotropa gallicola Szelenyi: 248 habitus, dorsal view 249 habitus, lateral view 250 head and mesosoma, dorsal viev 251 body without wings 252 data labels.

Figures 290 - 297. SEM o Fidiobia spp.: 290, 291, 292 F. hofferi 293 F. sashai 294, 295 F. synergorum 296 F. filicornis 297 F. flaviabdominalis.

Figures 322 - 324. Geographical distribution of: 322 F. synergorum (Blue area-data from Kieffer 1926. Red area-our data) 323 F. tripotini 324 F. vanharteni.