A second record of Xiphydria longicollis (Geoffroy) (Hymenoptera: Xiphydriidae) in Britain

1 Pages·1992·0.29 MB·

by  A J Halstead

BR. J. ENT. NAT. HIST.,5: 1992 23
A SECOND RECORD OF XIPHYDRIA LONGICOLLIS (GEOFFROY)
(HYMENOPTERA: XIPHYDRIIDAE) IN BRITAIN
A. J. Halstead
17Highclere Gardens. Knaphill, Woking, Surrey GU21 2LP.
On3.ix.91 asinglefemaleofthewoodwaspXiphydrialongicollis(Geoff.)wasseen
on the trunk ofan oak tree (QuercusroburL.) at the Royal Horticultural Society's
Garden, Wisley, Surrey(TQ063 580). Thetreewasalivebutinamoribundcondition,
possiblyasaresultofdamagetotherootsinthe 1987and 1990storms. Thetree, which
hasadiameterof45cmataheightof1 m, hadsparsefoliageandbrancheswhichwere
dyingback. Therewereanumberofplacesonthetrunkwheresapwasoozingfromthe
barkandthewoodwaspwas foundononeoftheseareasatthebaseofthetreeonthe
sunny side of the trunk. Other notable insects seen on this tree were the buprestid
beetle, Agriluspannonicus (Pill. & Mitt.) on 8.viii.91, and the platypodid beetle,
Platypus cylindrus (F.) on 21.viii.91, both of which were breeding in the trunk.
TheNaturalHistoryMuseumhasinitscollectionsaspecimenofX. longicollisthat
waspartofadonationreceivedfromtheEntomologicalClubin 1844.Thereis,however,
nolabeltoindicatewhenorwhereitwastaken.Apartfromthisunattributablespecimen,
X. longicolliswas unknown in Britain until Professor J. A. Owen bred two females
from a log offield maple {AcercampestreL.) collected in January 1984 in Windsor
Great Park, Berkshire (Shaw & Liston, 1985). He kept the log in an unheated
outbuildingandthewoodwaspsemergedduringJuly 1984. Thesespecimensmayhave
emergedearlierthanusualthrough havingbeen keptinshelteredconditions butmid-
summeristhenormal flight period forthetwootherBritishXiphydriaspecies; early
SeptemberwhentheWisleyspecimenwastakencouldwellbeanunusuallylatedate.
Shaw& Liston (1985) speculated that theexistenceofthespecimen in the Natural
History Museum and the location that Owen's specimens came from could indicate
that X. longicollis is part of Britain's relic insect fauna rather than a recent
introduction. WisleyGardenhasyieldedanumberofbeetlesand fliesassociatedwith
ancientwoodlandoroldparklandtrees, althXoughthegardenitselfandthesurrounding
landdoesnotcomeintoeithercategory. If longicollisisarecentarrival, itshould
start to be found more frequently. It is certainly big enough to be noticed, since the
female taken at Wisley has a length of20mm, including the sawsheath, and a wing
span of 30mm. It is mainly black with creamy white markings on the head and
similarly coloured wedge-shaped markinXgs on the sides ofthe abdominal segments.
Itscolorationandsizeresemblesthatof camelus(L.), whichseemstobethemost
common ofthe three British Xiphydriaspecies. The basal parts ofthe tibia and the
basitarsus are white on the hind legs of female longicollis whereas these parts are
reddishbrownin femalecamelus. OtherdifferencesaregivenbyShaw&Liston(1985).
XiphydrialongicollisoccurswidelyinEurope, whereithasbeenrecordedasbreeding
in oak (Smith, 1978).—A. J. Halstead, 17 Highclere Gardens, Knaphill, Woking,
Surrey GU21 2LP.
References
Shaw,M.R.&Liston,A.D. 1985.Xiphydrialongicollis(Geoffroy)(Hymenoptera:Xiphydriidae)
new to Britain. Ent. Gaz. 36: 233-235.
Smith, D. R. 1978. Hymenopterorum CatalogusPars 14, Symphyta 193pp. The Hague.
[ThisspecimenoiXiphydrialongicolliswasphotographedattheSociety'sAnnualExhibition,
26October 1991, andwill appearin oneofthecolourplatestobepublished ina forthcoming
issue of the Journal.
]