IDENTITY OF SYRISTA SPECIOSA MOCSARY AND NOTES ON THE GENUS UROSYRISTA MAA(HYMENOPTERA : CEPHIDAE)

5 Pages·1999·2 MB·

by  D R Smith

PROC. ENTOMOL. SOC. WASH.
101(2), 1999, pp. 285-289
IDENTITY OF SYRISTA SPECIOSA MOCSARY AND NOTES ON THE GENUS
UROSYRISTA MAA (HYMENOPTERA: CEPHIDAE)
David R. Smith
Systematic Entomology Laboratory, PSI, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture, % National Museum ofNatural History, MRC 168, Washington, DC
20560-0168, U.S.A. (e-mail: [email protected])
—
Abstract. The holotype of Syrista speciosa Mocsary, described from Vietnam, is re-
described and illustrated and confirmed as belonging to the genus Urosyrista Maa. Pos-
sible characters are presented to separate it from other species of this southeastern Asian
genus.
Key Words: Cephidae, Urosyrista, stem sawflies
In the treatments of world Cephidae Urosyrista speciosa (Mocsary)
(Benson 1946, Muche 1981) and Asian Ce- (Figs. 1-9)
phidae (Maa 1944, 1949), the species de-
Syrista speciosa Mocsary 1904: 496. Fe-
scribed as Syrista speciosa by Mocsary
male. "Tonkin: Montes Mauson, in alti-
(1904), an unusually large and colorful ce-
tudine 2-3,000 pedum a H. Fruhstorfer
phid from "Tonkin," has never been stud-
detecta. (Mus. Hung.)."
ied and confidently placed. Benson (1946)
Cephalocephus speciosa: Benson 1946:
placed S. speciosa in his new genus Ce-
100.
phalocephus, qualifying it with the state- Urosyrista speciosa: Muche 1981: 265.
ment that "it seems almost certain" that it
—
belongs to this genus. Maa (1949) synon- Description. Length, 16 mm. Head and
ymized Cephalocephus with Urosyrista body smooth, shining, without punctures.
which he had described earlier (Maa 1944). Color: Yellowish with black markings (as
Although Maa (1949) did not see Cephal- shown in Figs. 1-9); antenna pale yellowish
ocephus xanthiis Benson, the type species ventrally, black dorsally, with basal 3 seg-
of Cephalocephus, both generic descrip- ments black. Wings hyaline, apices slightly
tions are almost identical and their synon- blackish; most of stigma black, and veins
ymy cannot be disputed. Maa (1949) did dark brown, costa and margins of stigma
not mention S. speciosa or put it in his key yellowish. Head: In dorsal view, enlarged
to species of Urosyrista. Muche (1981), and swollen behind eyes, elongated, 1.2X
who based much of his work on the liter- broader than long, distance behind eyes
ature, placed S. speciosa in Urosyrista but 1.3X eye length; distance from front ocellus
did not include it in his key to Urosyrista to hind margin of head 3X distance from
species, which was taken directly from Maa front ocellus to antennal sockets. Antennal-
(1949). tentorial distance 2X distance between an-
Here, I redescribe, illustrate, and confirm tennae. Antenna 30-segmented. Left man-
the generic placement of Syrista speciosa dible bidentate, subapical tooth slightly lon-
based on examination of the holotype. ger and stouter than apical tooth, without
286 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON
Figs. 1-3. Urosyrista speciosa. \, Lateral view. 2, Dorsal view. 3, Dorsal view ofthorax.
VOLUME NUMBER
101. 2 287
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f
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m
Figs. 4-6. Urosyrista speciosa. 4. Head, front view. 5, Head, lateral view. 6. Head, dorsal view.
288 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON
Figs. 7-9. Urosyrista speciosa. 7, Thorax, lateral view. 8, Apex of abdomen and siicaili. laicral view. 9,
Apex of abdomen and sheath, dorsal view.
intermediary tooth (Fig. 4). Sixth segment cell. Hindtibia with 2 preapical spines. Mid-
of maxillary palpus originating from near tibia with one preapical spine. Hindbasitar-
apex of5th segment; segment 4 about 1.5X sus subequal in length to remaining tarsal
length of segment 6. Thorax: Forewing segments combined. Tarsal claws bifid, in-
with anal crossvein. Hindwing with cubital ner tooth about as long as outer tooth, with-
VOLUME NUMBER
101. 2 289
out basal lobe. Abdomen: Cercus less than similar to U. montana because they share
halflength ofsawsheath (Figs. 8, 9). Sheath the thick, parallel sided sheath in dorsal
as in Figs. 8, 9; in dorsal view, thick and view. The sheath of U. mencioyana is slen-
parallel sided; length about .6X length of der and gradually tapering toward its apex.
basal plate and slightly less than half as I hesitate to use coloration. In species as
long as hind—basitarsus. these with numerous black markings, vari-
Holotype. Female, labeled "Tonkin, ation in the amount of black can be exten-
Montes Manson, April, Mai, 2-3,000', H. sive. Maa (1949) has alluded to this by sep-
Fruhstorfer," "Typus 1904 Syrista speciosa arating several color forms of U. mencioy-
Mocs." (red label). The third label on the ana. However, as it may be useful, U. spe-
pin is a blank red label. In the Hungarian ciosa is more extensively yellow than the
Natural Histor—y Museum, Budapest. other two species and the antennae are
Discussion. Almost all characters of black dorsally, pale whitish ventrally, with
Syrista speciosa are consistent with Uro- the basal three segment entirely black. Uro-
syrista, and placement in this genus is cor- syrista montana has the antennae apically
rect according to generic definitions and dull brown to black, basally distinctly paler,
keys by Maa (1944, 1949), Benson (1946), and the mesepisternum mostly black with a
and Muche (1981). Some minor differences median yellow band. Urosyrista mencioy-
are the lack ofa basal swelling on the tarsal ana has the antennae apically yellow, ba-
claws (according to Benson 1946 the claws sally distinctly darker, and the head and tho-
have a small basal swelling) and the sub- rax mostly black.
apical tooth of the left mandible which, al- Acknowledgments
though longer than the apical tooth, is not
as large in relation to the apical tooth as I thank L. Zombori, Hungarian Museum
figured by Benson (1946, fig. 13). Unique of Natural History, Budapest, for loan of
characters for Urosyrista in the Cephidae the holotype. Terry Nuhn and Cathy An-
are the enlarged head behind the eyes (Figs. derson, Museum Technicians, Systematic
5, 6), the lack of an intermediate tooth and Entomology Laboratory, USDA, took the
large innter tooth of the left mandible (Fig. photographs of the holotype and arranged
4), the apical segment of the maxillary pal- the plates. I thank the following for review
pus emerging from nearthe apex ofthe fifth of the manuscript: N. M. Schiff, USDA,
segment, and the bifid tarsal claws, lacking Forest Service, Stoneville, MS, and M.E.
a basal lobe. Schauff and S.W. Lingafelter, Systematic
Urosyrista is known only from south- Entomology Laboratory, USDA, Washing-
eastern Asia, and three species are currently ton, DC.
included: U. speciosa (Mocsary) from Vi- Literature Cited
etnam; U. montana (Maa) {— Cephaloce-
Benson, R. B. 1946. Classification of the Cephidae
phiis xanthus Benson according to Maa (Hymenoptera Symphyta). Transactions of the
1949) from China and Burma; and U. men- Royal Entomological Society of London 96: 89-
cioyana Maa from China. Maa 949) con- 108.
( 1
sidered three color forms of U. mencioyana, Maa, T. C. 1944. Novelties of Chinese Hymenoptera,
Chalastogastra. Biological Bulletin of the Fukien
the typical form, var. itnicolor Maa, and var.
Christian University 4: 33-60.
xanthobalteata Maa. All three are separated Maa, T. C. 1949. A synopsis of Chinese sawflies of
by the amount of black on the pronotum. the superfamily Cephoidea (Hymenoptera). Chi-
The host plant is known only for U. men- nese Journal ofZoology 3: 17-42.
cioyana; specimens were reared irom.Acan- Mocsary, A. 1904. Siricidarum speciesquinque novae.
thopanax trifoliatus (Lour.) Merr. (Arali- Annates Musei Nationalis Hungarici 2: 496-498.
Muche, H. 1981. Die Cephidae der Erde (Hym., Ce-
aceae) (Maa 1944). phidae). Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift,
Urosyrista speciosa appears to be most N.E 28: 239-295.