Panteliella bianchii Vyrzhikovskaya, 1962

Nastasi, Louis F. & Deans, Andrew R., 2024, New herb gall wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Aulacideini) from Kyrgyzstan, with description of a new genus and a review of the genus Panteliella Kieffer, 1901, Zootaxa 5537 (4), pp. 511-526 : 520

Panteliella bianchii Vyrzhikovskaya, 1962

Description translated from Vyrzhikovskaya (1962). Female –Body black. Head wider than high and slightly wider than mesosoma. Occiput and vertex smooth and shining. Face with slight medial elevation. Facial radiating striae apparent but weakly indicated. Genae coriaceous. Malar space slightly longer than half the compound eye length. Antennae rufous, with 14 antennomeres, slightly expanded distally. F1 slightly longer than F2. Pronotum sculpture reticulate. Mesoscutum weakly sculptured; nearly smooth. Notauli conspicuous [length of conspicuous portion unclear]. Mesopleuron at least partly striate [described as smooth to striate but degree of either sculpture type unclear]. Mesoscutellar disc weakly sculptured, apparently strongly triangular, and with conspicuous, long mesoscutellar foveae; area within foveae smooth and unsculptured. Wings hyaline; veins brown; basal vein and radius strongly thickened; marginal cell open; areolet absent. Legs yellow-brown. Metasoma shiny; brownish in color. Second metasomal tergite occupying about half metasoma length. Ventral spine short, slightly longer than basal width.

Host. Unknown.

Distribution. Described from the vicinity of Leningrad ( Russia).

Remarks. Vyrzhikovskaya (1962) notes that P. bianchii differs from P. fedtschenkoi by the weak sculpture of the mesoscutum, the longer mesoscutellar foveae, and the overall shape of the mesoscutellum. However, an in-depth study of the type material is needed to substantiate these characters and those given in the above redescription and key. We have not yet been able to locate the type of P. bianchii ; we contacted the Zoological Institute at the Russian Academy of Science (St. Petersburg, Russia), who informed us that Vyrzhikovskaya’s types, including P. bianchii , were not present in their collection (Sofya Tyulina, pers. comm., September 2024). While the host of Panteliella bianchii is not known, it may be associated with Phlomoides tuberosa or a related plant species.