A New Aphidius Species (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae) from High-Montane Areas of Southeastern Europe

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1 ENTOMOLOGY Z. Tomanović (2004) Phytoparasitica 32(3): A New Aphidius Species (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae) from High-Montane Areas of Southeastern Europe Zeljko Tomanović, 1 Nickolas G. Kavallieratos, 2 Christos G. Athanassiou, 3 Olivera Petrović 4 and Ljubiša Z. Stanisavljević 1 Aphidius montenegrinus sp.n. from Serbia and Montenegro is described and illustrated. It parasitized Acyrthosiphon daphnidis Ilharco, on Daphne alpina L. The parasitoid was described and illustrated using scanning electron microscope photographs and line drawing. The new species is a member of the Acyrthosiphon aphid parasitoid guild and was collected from Zabojsko Jezero Lake in Montenegro. The parasitoid and the hyperparasitoid spectrum of A. daphnidis are presented for the first time. KEY WORDS: Braconidae; Aphidiinae; Aphidius montenegrinus sp.n.; Acyrthosiphon daphnidis; Daphne alpina. INTRODUCTION Within the scope of the project Fauna of Mt. Durmitor Biosphere Reserve: Population and Species Diversity of Beneficial Insects and also during investigations of highmontane areas of southeastern Europe, we found a large number of parasitoid aphid plant associations (16) and species, new to science (15,17-19). Genus Daphne (Thymeleaceae) includes several species which are valuable in landscape architecture (1). The host plant Daphne alpina L. is a shrub which is distributed in southern and central Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor, where it grows in stony and shaded areas in the mountains (7). The host aphid Acyrthosiphon daphnidis Ilharco, which is the only known aphid on D. alpina, is holocyclic, monoecious on Daphne, and has been described from Portugal and the Canary Islands on Daphne gnidium L. (3). Our ongoing research has led to the description of a new Aphidius species from A. daphnidis on D. alpina, which is a member of the Acyrthosiphon aphid parasitoid guild. The new species, Aphidius montenegrinus, has probably a Mediterranean and sub- Mediterranean distribution, following the specific association A. daphnidis / D. alpina and probably other host plants of the genus Daphne. Samples of D. alpina plants bearing aphid colonies consisting of both live and mummified aphids were collected from Zabojsko Jezero Lake on Mt. Durmitor (Serbia Received Oct. 1, 2003; accepted Dec. 22, 2003; posting April 30, Inst. of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro. 2 Dept. of Entomology and Agricultural Zoology, Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Benaki Phytopathological Institute, 14561, Kifissia, Attica, Greece. *Corresponding author [ nick kaval@hotmail.com, esimou@aua.gr]. 3 Laboratory of Agricultural Zoology and Entomology, Agricultural University of Athens, Athens, Attica, Greece. 4 Dept. of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, Zemun, Serbia and Montenegro. Phytoparasitica 32:3,

2 and Montenegro). The external structure of the emerged parasitoids was studied using an Olympus SZX 9 stereomicroscope. The holotype specimen was slide-mounted in balsam. One specimen was gold-coated with a sputter coater and examined using a Jeol JSM-35 scanning electron microscope. Type material is deposited in the collection of the Belgrade Natural History Museum (BNHM) (Serbia and Montenegro) and in the collection of the Laboratory of Agricultural Zoology and Entomology (CLAZE), Agricultural University of Athens (Greece). The terminology used in this paper regarding the diagnostic characters of the aphidiines is based on Huber and Sharkey (2) and Kavallieratos et al. (4,5). APHIDIUS MONTENEGRINUS TOMANOVIĆ AND KAVALLIERATOS, sp.n. Diagnosis The new species can easily be differentiated from all other Aphidius species by the very short R 1 (= metacarpus), which is equal to or shorter than half the stigma length (Fig. 1); the 16-segmented antenna and the elongated first flagellomere (= F 1 ) (Figs. 2, 3) (6,8-14). A. montenegrinus resembles the Nearctic species Aphidius alius Muesebeck and Aphidius segmentatus Pike and Starý by the short metacarpus and the number of antennal segments but it is immediately distinguished from them by the different proportions between: length and width of stigma ( 3.0 in A. alius and A. segmentatus instead of in A. montenegrinus), length of distal abscissa of R 1 and width of stigma ( in A. alius and 1.0 in A. segmentatus instead of in A. montenegrinus), length and width of F 1 ( in A. alius and 2.0 in A. segmentatus instead of in A. montenegrinus). By the short distal abscissa of R 1 and the shape of stigma, the new species is similar to the Palaearctic species Aphidius aquilus Mackauer and the Australian Aphidius pelargonii Starý and Carver, but it is immediately distinguished from the former by the number of antennal segments (12 14-segmented antenna in A. aquilus instead of 16-segmented in A. montenegrinus), and from the latter by the different proportion between length and width of F 1 ( 2.5 in A. pelargonii instead of in A. montenegrinus) and the number of antennal segments (17 18-segmented antenna in A. pelargonii instead of 16-segmented antenna in A. montenegrinus). Description Female Head (Fig. 2). Eyes oval. Malar space equal to 0.25 of longitudinal eye diameter. Clypeus oval, with 9 14 long setae. Tentorial index Antenna 16-segmented, moderately thickened at apex (Fig. 3), with semierect and adpressed setae which are shorter than the diameter of the segments. F times as long as wide, without placodes. F times as long as wide, with three placodes. F 1 equal to F 2. Maxillary palpi 4- segmented, labial palpi 3-segmented. Mesosoma: Mesonotum with notaulices distinct in the fore part, slightly crenulated, effaced on the disc. Propodeum (Fig. 4) areolated with 2 4 setae on its upper and 2 3 setae on its lower, narrow pentagonal areola. Forewing (Fig. 1): Stigma times as long as wide and times as long as distal abscissa of R 1 ; r-rs vein 1.4 times as long as 3/R S vein; R 1 vein times longer than stigma width. 222 Z. Tomanović

3 Aphidius montenegrinus n. sp., female. Fig. 1. forewing; Fig. 2, head, frontal view; Fig. 3, antenna; Fig. 4, propodeum, dorsal view; Fig. 5, metasomal tergum 1, dorsal view; and Fig. 6, ovipositor sheath, lateral view. Phytoparasitica 32:3,

4 Metasoma: Metasomal tergum 1 (Fig. 5), times as long as wide at spiracles with 8 10 costulae on its anterolateral area and with moderately prominent mediodorsal carina. Ovipositor sheath (Fig. 6) almost linear on its dorsal margin. Coloration: Head black. Face somewhat paler. Eyes black. Clypeus yellow. Mandibles yellow except for dark apices. Maxillary palpi light brown. Labial palpi yellow. Antennal scape dark brown. Antennal pedicel dark brown with light brown apex, F 1 dark brown with light brown base, remainder of antennae dark brown. Propleuron, pronotum, mesopleuron, metapleuron, scutellum, postscutellum, mesonotum, metanotum, propodeum dark brown. Wings hyaline with light brown venation. Metasomal tergum 1 brown to dark brown. Metasomal tergum 2 brown except for apex and basal parts, which are light brown. Sometimes metasomal tergum 3 light brown. Rest of metasoma dark brown. Legs light brown to yellow, apices of tarsi brown. Mummy brown. Body length: mm. Male Antenna segmented, moderately thickened at apex with semi-erect and adpressed setae which are shorter than the diameter of the segments. Metasomal tergum times as long as wide at spiracles. Stigma times as long as wide and 1.6 times as long as distal abscissa of R 1. Coloration: Head, eyes and face black. Clypeus dark brown. Mandibles light brown except for dark apices. Maxillary and labial palpi light brown. Antennae dark brown. Propleuron, pronotum, mesopleuron, metapleuron, scutellum, postscutellum, mesonotum, metanotum dark brown. Propodeum brown to dark brown. Metasomal tergum 1 dark brown. Metasomal tergum 3 brown. Rest of metasoma dark brown. Legs brown to dark brown. Body length: mm. The name of the new species is derived from Montenegro, where it was found. Type material Holotype female: Serbia and Montenegro, Montenegro, Mt. Durmitor, Zabojsko Jezero Lake (alt m), 1.viii.2002 (BNHM slide number 011/02) reared from A. daphnidis on D. alpina, coll. Kavallieratos and Tomanović. Paratypes: Four females and six males with the same collection data as holotype: 2 females (BNHM slide numbers 012/02 013/02), 2 females (CLAZE 1 gold plated, 1 dry mounted), 5 males (BNHM numbers 014/02 018/02; dry mounted), 1 male (CLAZE dry mounted). According to Pungerl (10), the only Aphidius species with short distal abscissa of R 1 and segmented antenna is A. pelargonii. The nearest species to A. pelargonii with short distal abscissa of R 1 are the European species A. aquilus with segmented antenna and A. montenegrinus with 16. Two Nearctic species A. segmentatus with and A. alius with segmented antenna, also have short distal abscissa of R 1 (8,9,11) but the biology and variability of these species are not well known. Except for A. aquilus, which parasitize Calaphidini aphids (12), the host range pattern of the other species is restricted to Macrosiphini aphids. A. alius, A. pelargoni and A. montenegrinus parasitize Acyrthosiphon aphids. The short distal abscissa of R 1 as a character trait is certainly synapomorphy for A. montenegrinus, A. aquilus, A. pelargonii, A. segmentatus and A. alius. Also, the elongated first flagellar segment F 1 in A. montenegrinus, is an apomorphous character. According to Ilharco (3), A. daphnidis has never been found to be parasitized or predated. Our investigation reveals for the first time the parasitoid and hyperparasitoid spectrum of that aphid. The following parasitoid and hyperparasitoid spectrum was 224 Z. Tomanović

5 collected from A. daphnidis: A. montenegrinus sp. n., as the dominant aphid parasitoid species (11 specimens); Aphidius cf. urticae Haliday (3 specimens); Praon volucre Haliday (3 specimens); and the hyperparasitoid Pachyneuron concolor (Förster) (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae) (2 specimens). ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We would like to thank Mrs. Ioanna Louvrou (Dept. of Biology, Section of Ecology and Systematics, University of Athens) for help with using the scanning electron microscope; Mr. Vladimir Žikić (Mavrovska 8, Niš, Serbia and Montenegro) for assistance with the collection of the material; Aleksandar Stojanović (Belgrade Natural History Museum) for identification of the secondary parasitoids; Mrs. Gordana Tomović (Institute of Botany, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade) for the information about Daphne alpina; and express our appreciation to the two anonymous experts for their reviews of our manuscript. REFERENCES 1. Hay, R. [Ed.] (1988) Reader s Digest Encyclopaedia of Garden Plants and Flowers. The Reader s Digest Association Ltd., London, UK. 2. Huber, J.T. and Sharkey, M.J. (1993) Structure. in: Goulet, H. and Huber, J.T. [Eds.] Hymenoptera of the World: An Identification Guide to Families. Research Branch Publ. 1894/E, Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, Ont., Canada. pp Ilharco, F.A. (1994) A new species of Acyrthosiphon (Homoptera: Aphidoidea) from Daphne gnidium L. in the Canary Islands and Portugal. Bol. Mus. Munic. Funchal 46: Kavallieratos, N.G., Athanassiou, C.G. and Tomanović, Ž. (2003) A new species and a key to Greek Praon Haliday (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae). Dtsch. Entomol. Z. 50: Kavallieratos, N.G., Lykouressis, D.P., Sarlis, G.P., Stathas, G.J., Sanchis Segovia, A. and Athanassiou, C.G. (2001) The Aphidiinae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonoidea: Braconidae) of Greece. Phytoparasitica 29: Liu, C.S.G. (1977) Genus Aphidius (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae) of California. Spec. Publ. Taiwan Agric. Res. Inst. Taipei 11: Meusel, H., Jäger, E. and Weinert, E. (1978) Vergleichende Chorologie der Zentraleuropäischen Flora 2. Text und Karten. Gustav Fischer, Jena, Germany. 8. Muesebeck, C.F.V. (1958) Three new aphid parasites from the Pacific Coast (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae). Entomol. News 69: Pike, K.S., Starý, P., Miller, T., Graf, G., Allison, D., Boydston, L. et al. (2000) Aphid parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae) of Northwest USA. Proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash. 102: Pungerl, N.B. (1986) Morphometric and electrophoretic study of Aphidius species (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae) reared from a variety of aphid hosts. Syst. Entomol. 11: Smith, C.F. (1944) The Aphidiinae of North America (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). Ohio State Univ. Contrib. Zool. Entomol. 6: Starý, P. (1973) A review of the Aphidius species (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae) of Europe. Annot. Zool. Bot. Bratislava 84: Starý, P. (1976) Aphid parasites (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae) of the Mediterranean area. Dr W. Junk, the Hague, the Netherlands. 14. Starý, P. and Carver, M. (1979) Two new species of Aphidius Nees (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonoidea: Aphidiidae) from Australia. J. Aust. Entomol. Soc. 18: Starý, P., Tomanović, Ž. and Petrović, O. (1998) A new parasitoid of root-feeding aphids from the Balkan mountains (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae). Dtsch. Entomol. Z. 45: Tomanović, Ž., Brajković, M. and Krunić, M. (1998) A checklist of aphid parasitoids (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae) in Yugoslavia. Acta Entomol. Serb. 3: Tomanović, Ž. and Kavallieratos, N.G. (2002) Two new aphidiine wasps (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae) from the southeastern Europe. Reichenbachia 34: Tomanović, Ž., Kavallieratos, N.G., Athanassiou, C.G. and Petrović, O. (2003) A new Praon species (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae) of the Uroleucon parasitoid complex from the Mediterranean area. Phytoparasitica 31: Tomanović, Ž., Starý, P. and Petrović, O. (2002) Monoctonus leclanti sp. n. (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae) from high-montane areas of southeastern Europe and key to related species. Entomol. Fenn. 13: Phytoparasitica 32:3,