Gasteruption diversipes (Abeille de Perrin, 1879)

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 : 16-18

Gasteruption diversipes (Abeille de Perrin, 1879)

Figs. 32–42 .

For synonymy see van Achterberg & Talebi (2014).

Diagnosis: Larger species with the body length of females between 11–14 mm, length of ovipositor is 9–12 mm. Total length of males is 9–13 mm. Species with a long ovipositor sheath, 3.6–4.9× as long as third tibia, with whitish apex 1.4–2.5× as long as third basitarsus. Head is not elongated in dorsal view, and it is bearing narrow occipital carina, well-developed antesternal carina and whitish or silvery pubescence on the face and mesopleurae. Male third tibia is very often yellowish or orange laterally. Similar to Gasteruption forticorne , which has elongated gena and shiny mesopleuron with sparser sculpture than in G. diversipes .

Distribution: ( Fig. 42 ): West-Palaearctic species. Recorded from most of Europe, more numerous and widespread in the south of the continent. Known from the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France + Corsica, Germany, Greece + Crete, Hungary, Italy + Sardinia and Sicily, Macedonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey ( Ferrière 1946; Šedivý 1958; Oehlke 1984; Madl 1988; 1989; Pagliano & Scaramozzino 2000; Wiśniowski 2004, 2020; van Achterberg 2013, 2019; van Achterberg & Talebi 2014; Žikić et al. 2014; Ceccolini 2016; Madl & Mitroiu 2019, Özbek 2020, and personal records), recorded also from Iran ( van Achterberg & Talebi 2014).

Šedivý (1958; 1989) recorded this species both from the Czech Republic only from Moravia and from Slovakia. It is a very rare species recorded only from the warmest parts of both countries. In the Czech Republic, it was recorded three times in Bohemia in the past, while there are no recent records. One old record from south Moravia was recorded and the only recent record of this species from the Czech Republic is from Břeclav, Boří Les from 2019. The locality is in the south-east part of the country, a few kilometres from the borders with Austria and Slovakia. In Slovakia, it was recorded in ten localities prior to 1990, and in five localities after the year 1990. It is a new species for Bohemia, although the records of occurrence are very old.

Biology: Recorded from June to August. Bees of families Colletidae and Megachilidae have been reported as hosts of this species. Hylaeus communis and Hylaeus deceptorius (Benoist) from the first ( Ferton 1910; Oehlke 1984; Jakubzik & Cölln 1997) and Heriades sp. and Osmia sp. from the second ( Ferrière 1946; Jakubzik & Cölln 1997). Several authors also reported solitary wasps of the genera Eumenes and Odynerus as hosts of this species, but the records are unlikely to be correct ( Ferrière 1946; Šedivý 1958; Gyorfi & Bajari 1962; Oehlke 1984). Recorded from plants of the family Apiaceae ( Wall 1994) .

Conservation: South-European species with a north-ranging distribution in both countries. It disappeared from most of the Czech Republic and recently is known only from one locality in the south. In Slovakia, it has also become much rarer than was before. This species is locally common in southern parts of Europe. Red List Category: CR—critically endangered ( Czech Republic), VU—vulnerable ( Slovakia) ( Tab. 2).

Figures

FIGURE 42. Distribution map of Gasteruption diversipes in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Full circles represent distribution after 1990 and empty circles distribution until 1990.

FIGURES 32–41. Gasteruption diversipes (Abeille de Perrin, 1879). 32—female, lateral habitus, 33—male, lateral habitus, 34—female, lateral head, 35—female, frontal head, 36—female, dorsal head, 37—female, lateral mesosoma, 38—female, dorsal mesosoma, 39—female, third leg, 40—male, third leg, 41—female, antesternal carina. Scale bars represent 1 mm.