Gasteruption merceti Kieffer, 1904

Bogusch, Petr, 2021, The genus Gasteruption Latreille, 1796 (Hymenoptera: Gasteruptiidae) in the Czech Republic and Slovakia: distribution, checklist, ecology, and conservation status, Zootaxa 4935 (1), pp. 1-63 : 36-38

Gasteruption merceti Kieffer, 1904

Figs. 139–147 .

For synonymy see van Achterberg & Talebi (2014).

Diagnosis: Body length of females is 10–14 mm, ovipositor 5–9 mm. Body length of males is 10–13 mm. Species with medium-sized ovipositor, 2.5–3.3× as long as third tibia, ovipositor sheath is dark at the apex. The head is typically shiny and inpunctate, a little elongated behind the eyes and narrowing posteriorly. Occipital collar is wide and semitransparent. Sculpture of mesonotum is shiny and very coarse. Similar to G. variolosum , which differs by the head being wider than long and vertex distinctly bulging behind the compound eyes, and the female ovipositor is much shorter (less than 2× as long as third tibia).

Distribution: ( Fig. 147 ): Palaearctic species. Distributed in Europe and Asia, more numerous and widespread in the south. Recorded from the following countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece + Crete and Lesbos, Hungary, Italy + Sardinia and Sicily, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine ( Ferrière 1946; Šedivý 1958; Oehlke 1984; Madl 1990; Pagliano & Scaramozzino 2000; Strumia & Pagliano 2014; van Achterberg & Talebi 2014; Žikić et al. 2014; Ceccolini 2016; Madl & Mitroiu 2019, Özbek 2020, Wiśniowski 2020, and personal records). In Asia from Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and in North Africa from Morocco ( van Achterberg & Talebi 2014 and personal records).

Šedivý (1958; 1989) recorded this species both from the Czech Republic (Moravia) and from Slovakia. It is a relatively common species recorded mostly from the warmer parts of both countries. In the Czech Republic it was recorded from 36 localities, while only 11 (seven new and four old) are from Bohemia. Most of the records are from south Moravia. In Slovakia, it was recorded from 10 localities until 1990 and from 12 localities after 1990, most of the records are from river floodplains and the southernmost parts of the country ( Tab. 2). A new species for Bohemia.

Biology: Recorded from May to August. Hosts are bees of the genus Ceratina (Apidae) , Ceratina callosa (Fabricius) ( Malyshev 1964) , Ceratina chalybea Chevrier and Ceratina cyanea (Kirby) were published as hosts ( Malyshev 1966), as well as other species of the genus. Records on Pemphredon lethifer and Pemphredon rugifer (Dahlbom) as hosts are unlikely ( Höppner 1904; Ferrière 1946; Šedivý 1958; Gyorfi & Bajari 1962). Adults visit flowers of plants of the family Apiaceae .

Conservation: Although this species prefers steppic habitats especially in the warmer parts of both countries, the number of localities of occurrence is quite high and increased after the year 1990. Thus, we suggest it to be LC—least concern ( Tab. 2).

Figures

FIGURE 147. Distribution map of Gasteruption merceti in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Full circles represent distribution after 1990 and empty circles distribution until 1990.

FIGURES 139–146. Gasteruption merceti Kieffer, 1904. 139—female, lateral habitus, 140—male, lateral habitus, 141—female, lateral head, 142—female, frontal head, 143—female, dorsal head, 144—female, lateral mesosoma, 145—female, dorsal mesosoma, 146—female, third leg. Scale bars represent 1 mm.