Calameuta punctata (Klug, 1803)

Liston, Andrew, Mutanen, Marko, Heidemaa, Mikk, Blank, Stephan M., Kiljunen, Niina, Taeger, Andreas, Viitasaari, Matti, Vikberg, Veli, Wutke, Saskia & Prous, Marko, 2022, Taxonomy and nomenclature of some Fennoscandian Sawflies, with descriptions of two new species (Hymenoptera, Symphyta), Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 69 (2), pp. 151-218 : 151

Calameuta punctata (Klug, 1803)

Figs 3 , 4

Astatus punctatus Klug, 1803: 55, plate VII figs 2a, b. ♀. Syntypes (assumed). The type material is considered to be lost or destroyed. Published type locality: Germany [implicit from title of Klug’s work]. Neotype designated below.

Calameuta punctata : Zombori (1978).

Astatus floralis Klug, 1803: 53-54, plate VI figs 5a, b. ♂. Syntypes (assumed). The type material is considered to be lost or destroyed. Published type locality: Germany [implicit from title of Klug’s work]. syn. nov.

Astatus analis Klug, 1803: 54-55, plate VII fig. 1. ♀. Syntypes (assumed). The type material is considered to be lost or destroyed. Published type locality: Germany [implicit from title of Klug’s work]. syn. nov.

Cephus filum Gussakovskij, 1935: 112, 358, 361. ♀, ♂. Syntypes. Type locality: Sarepta, Caucasus, and southern Siberia. ZIN. syn. nov.

Calameuta filum : Benson (1946).

Type material examined and taxonomic notes.

To help resolve the taxonomic disagreements in the interpretation of these nominal taxa, and promote the future stability of nomenclature, a neotype is designated for Astatus punctatus :

Astatus punctatus Klug, 1803. Neotype ♀ (DEI-GISHym21255, Fig. 4A-D ), hereby designated. Germany, Brandenburg, Landkreis Märkisch-Oderland, Müncheberg, Trebnitz, 52.535°N, 14.204°E, damp meadow, swept from Alopecurus pratensis , 16.05.2015, leg. A. Liston (deposited in the SDEI). Labelling [printed on pale paper if not stated otherwise]: "Germany: Brandenburg; Landkreis Märkisch-Oderland, Müncheberg Trebnitz 16.05.2015 leg. A. D. Liston", “21255” [handwritten] with part of a leg gummed to card], “DEI-GISHym21255”, "♀ Calameuta punctata (Klug) [handwritten] det. A. Liston 2018", "NEOTYPE ♀ Astatus punctatus Klug, 1803 designated A. Liston 2022" [red]. Klug’s description states that abdominal segment 4 has obscure, paired dorsal spots; segment 5 four separate yellow spots, one pair laterally, the other dorsally; segments 6 and 7 with spots on their lower posterior margins; segment 8 immaculate; segment 9 completely yellow. Accordingly, we selected as neotype a specimen with small pale markings on terga 4-7 as well as 8-10 (Fig. 4A-D ). The abdomen of a second female (DEI-GISHym21260) collected at the same place and time has fewer and less extensive pale markings and is thus intermediate in this respect to other female C. punctata specimens collected in Germany and all known Finnish and Estonian specimens, which have a completely black abdomen apart from terga 8-10 (Fig. 3A, C ).

Astatus floralis and A. analis have in the past generally been treated as synonyms of Calameuta haemorrhoidalis auct. [our Calameuta variabilis ], e.g. by Konow (1905a). The opinion that A. floralis is a synonym of Cephus pygmeus (Linnaeus, 1767), as in de Dalla Torre (1894), cannot be accepted: Klug’s description of leg colour does not fit C. pygmeus . Our reason for placing A. floralis and A. analis as synonyms of Calameuta punctata rather than of C. variabilis is based primarily on one of the main characters which distinguishes C. punctata from C. variabilis : the structure of the maxillary palps. In the description of Astatus which precedes the descriptions of A. floralis , A. analis and A. punctatus , Klug characterized the genus thus: "Palpi[...]anteriores[...]sexarticulati, articulis duobus baseos cylindricis, aequalibus, tertio crassiori, longiori, subcylindrico, quarto longissimo, graciliori, quinto brevissimo, ultimo longitudine fere tertii subulato[...]". The described proportions of maxillary palpomeres 5 and 6 therefore fit C. punctata (Fig. 3D ), not C. variabilis (Fig. 5B ). Calameuta variabilis is unique in Calameuta in having maxillary palpomeres 5 and 6 of almost equal length ( Gussakovskij 1935; Benson 1968; Zombori 1978). Zombori (1978) correctly identified Calameuta variabilis [which he called C. haemorrhoidalis ] as a taxon distinct from C. punctata , and summarized the characters that distinguish them, but interpreted some of the names wrongly. Notably, Zombori (1978) did not mention the major contradiction in the morphology of the maxillary palps, as described by Klug, when he tentatively suggested that A. floralis and A. analis might be synonyms of Astatus haemorrhoidalis auct. ["the description of the latter two [ Astatus floralis , Astatus analis ] rather corresponds to the one given by Fabricius for C. haemorrhoidalis , accordingly, they are considered as synonyms of the latter name."]. Zombori’s main reason for doubting that Astatus analis was synonymous with Calameuta punctata , seems to have been the wording of Klug’s descriptions, which suggested that the thorax of Astatus analis is shinier than that of Calameuta punctata . Apart from this, Klug’s description of A. analis fits the darker forms within the rather wide range of variability in the female sex of C. punctata . Strangely, in his discussion of these names, Zombori (1978) does not mention Calameuta filum at all.

The explicit collection data given by Klug (1803) for Astatus floralis ("Locus in editioribus argillosis; in floribus"), A. analis ("Locus in editioribus; in floribus"), and A. punctatus ("Locus in floribus") are, in part, not easy to interpret. Clearly, "in floribus" means that the specimens were collected from flowers. We think that "in editioribus argillosis" refers simply to the type of locality, i.e. an elevated place on clayey ground. This fits well with the type of sites at which C. punctata has recently been collected in Germany (see below).

The synonymy of Calameuta filum with C. punctata can be proposed with a high degree of confidence. The characters described by Gussakovskij (1935) for the former are precisely those used by Zombori (1978) to characterize the latter. The same characters are also given by Viitasaari (1975) in his description of Finnish specimens identified as Calameuta filum , and which he compared with a syntype of that species. Viitasaari (1984) subsequently noted that Calameuta punctata sensu Zombori (1978) and C. filum are probably conspecific.

Biology and distribution.

The only recorded host plant of Calameuta punctata is Alopecurus pratensis L. ( Vikberg 1978; Liston 2015), on which it is possibly monophagous. Accordingly, C. punctata occurs mostly in rather moist places. Its wider geographic range is not entirely clear, particularly because the identity of Calameuta pravei (Dovnar-Zapolskij, 1926) remains unresolved. This has been considered to be a valid species (e.g. Llorente and Gayubo 1990), or a synonym of C. punctata (e.g. Taeger et al. 2010). Calameuta pravei was recorded by Gussakovskij (1935) from Transcaucasia, Crimea, and the western Kopet-Dagh (Turkmenia). Llorente and Gayubo (1990) added records from Spain. Excluding these records, C. punctata is known from south-east Russia, Transcaucasia and south Siberia to Irkutsk ( Gussakovskij 1935, as Cephus filum ), and central and northern Europe (specimens examined by us). The distribution of C. punctata is therefore rather different from that of C. variabilis (see below), but their ranges overlap at least in parts of south-central Europe.

Calameuta variabilis [as C. haemorrhoidalis auct.] has been stated to occur in Germany based on the mention of Germany as the type locality in the original descriptions by Fabricius (1781) of Tenthredo haemorrhoidalis and by Klug (1803) of Astatus punctatus , A. floralis and A. analis , coupled to an apparently faulty understanding of which taxa are represented by these names. Blank et al. (1998, 2001) listed C. haemorrhoidalis from Germany, only for Berlin-Brandenburg, dating the record respectively as "vor 1803" and “1802”. This refers to the type material of Klug’s species. Later, Liston et al. (2012) treated C. haemorrhoidalis auct. [ C. variabilis ] as extinct in Germany, and added C. punctata to the German list, based on recently collected specimens. Although it cannot be ruled out that C. variabilis once occurred in Germany, but has since disappeared, we think it more likely that in historical times only C. punctata ever occurred there, and propose in future to include only it in the list of German Symphyta . Fennoscandian and Estonian specimens which were previously identified as C. filum also belong to C. punctata .

Based on COI sequences, C. punctata is split into two barcode clusters. Three specimens from Finland and one from Estonia are identical (BOLD:ACQ7596), but differ from two German specimens by 5.0-5.5% (no BIN assigned yet, GenBank accessions MW353981 and MW353982). The BOLD:ACQ7596 is closer to C. pallipes , differing by a minimum of 4.1%.

Figures

Figure 3. Calameuta punctata (Klug, 1803) ♀ (DEI-GISHym 12236). A. Dorsal habitus; B. Head and thorax, dorsal. Mesoscutum (arrow); C. Lateral habitus; D. Maxillary palp. Palpomeres 5 and 6 (arrows); E. Head and thorax, ventral. Scale bars: 1 mm.

Figure 4. Calameuta punctata (Klug, 1803): neotype ♀ Astatus punctatus Klug, 1803 (DEI-GISHym 21255). A. Dorsal habitus; B. Lateral habitus; C. Abdomen, lateral; D. Abdomen tip, lateral. Scale bar: 1 mm.

Figure 5. Calameuta variabilis (Mocsary, 1886). A. Lateral habitus and labels, lectotype ♀ Cephus variabilis Mocsary, 1886; B. Maxillary palp ♀ (DEI-GISHym 14072). Palpomeres 5 and 6 (arrows); C. Thorax, dorsal ♀ (DEI-GISHym 14072). Mesoscutum (arrow).