Hymenoptera, Braconidae) of Malta
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by OAR@UM BULLETIN OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF MALTA (2015) Vol. 7 : 93–108 DOI: 10.17387/BULLENTSOCMALTA.2015.07 First contribution to the knowledge of the braconid wasps (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) of Malta Jeno PAPP1 ABSTRACT. A total of 48 species of braconid wasps (excluding 16 Aphidiidae) are here reported as occurring in the Maltese Islands, of which 38 species are reported for the first time from this territory. The braconid species of Malta belong to 13 subfamilies, of which two are the richest in terms of species diversity: Braconinae with 10 and Microgastrinae with 16 species. One Microgastrinae, Dolichogenidea zerafai sp. n. is described and distinguished from closely related species. The majority of the known species are widely distributed in Europe or in the Palaearctic. The braconid material is deposited in D. Mifsud’s private collection, with a few duplicates in the Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest. KEY WORDS. Mediterranean, Dolichogenidea zerafai sp. n. INTRODUCTION The braconid wasp fauna of the Maltese Islands is poorly known with very few records scattered in the entomological literature. More work has been done on the Aphidiidae (often treated as a subfamily of Braconidae) of the Maltese Islands with 16 species recorded to-date (RAKHSHANI et al., 2015). For completion, in the present work, all previously recorded species of Braconidae are included. For each species, material examined and notes where appropriate are included. Of the 48 species of braconids included in the present work, 38 are new to the fauna of Malta and are indicated with an asterisk (*). One species, Dolichogenidea zerafai, is new to science and is described in the present work. The species belong to 13 subfamilies of Braconidae as follows: Adeliinae (1 species), Agathidinae (5 species), Alysiinae (1 species), Brachistinae (2 species), Braconinae (10 species), Doryctinae (1 species), Euphorinae (2 species), Hormiinae (1 species), Microgastrinae (16 species), Miracinae (1 species), Opiinae (4 species), Rhyssalinae (1 species) and Rogadinae (3 species). Almost every braconid species, here discussed, is frequently to commonly found in Europe or in the Palaearctic Region. MATERIAL AND METHODS The braconid material studied during the present work was collected from the Maltese Islands by the following people: David Mifsud (DM), Mark Zammit (MZG), Michael Zerafa (MZ) and Thomas Cassar (TC). The bulk of the material is deposited in the private collection of David Mifsud of Zejtun (Malta) with some duplicates deposited in the Department of Zoology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest (BP). The identification of the braconid species was accomplished using the following works: NIXON (1972), PAPP (1977; 1979; 1984; 1987), TELENGA (1936; 1941), TOBIAS (1986a; 1986b) and WILKINSON (1941). In the annotated faunistic list which follows, both subfamilies and species within are treated in alphabetical order. 1 Zoological Department, Hungarian Natural History Museum, H–1088 Budapest, Baross utca l3, Hungary. E-mail: [email protected] 94 J. PAPP ANNOTATED FAUNISTIC LIST Subfamily Adeliinae Viereck, 1918 *Adelius subfasciatus Haliday, 1833 Material examined: Malta, Naxxar Gap, 7–8.iv.2009, 1 ♂, emerged from a nepticulid (Lepidoptera) larva feeding on Rhamnus lycioides, MZ. Notes: A frequent to common species throughout Europe. Nearest to Malta, A. subfasciatus is also known from Italy. The most recent phylogenetic works (e.g. QUICKE, 2015) have treated the Adeliinae within Chleloninae but I consider the Adeliinae as a valid subfamily. Subfamily Agathidinae Nees, 1814 *Agathis anglica Marshall, 1885 Material examined: Malta, Girgenti, 1.v.2014, 1 ♂, TC. Notes: A frequent to common species in Europe. Nearest to Malta, this species is also recorded from Italy, Greece and Morocco. *Agathis syngenesiae Nees, 1812 Material examined: Malta, Girgenti, 1.vi.2014, 1 ♀, TC. Notes: A sporadic to frequent species in the western Palaearctic Region. Nearest to Malta this species is also known from Italy and Greece. Agathis umbellatarum Nees, 1812 Notes: This species was not found during the present study but was previously reported from Malta by SIMBOLOTTI & VAN ACHTERBERG (1999:126) and based on this record the species was reported again as occurring in Malta in the online database of Fauna Europaea (VAN ACHTERBERG, 2013). Agathis umbellatarum is widely distributed and frequently found in the Palaearctic Region. It represents a forest-steppe species. In the Mediterranean area this species is known to occur in several countries, and nearest to Malta it is also recorded from Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Tunisia and Algeria. *Bassus dimidiator (Nees, 1834) Material examined: Malta, Zebbug, 26.v.2014, 1 ♀, TC. Notes: This species is included in the present work on the authority of Dr Gavin Broad of the Natural History Museum in London, UK who identified the above mentioned specimen. This species is widespread in the western Palaearctic Region. Nearest to Malta, it is also known from Italy, France (Corsica), Greece and Turkey. The braconid wasps of Malta 95 Bassus tumidulus (Nees, 1812) Material examined: Malta, Naxxar, 21.i.2007, 1 ♀, MZ; Zebbug, 26.v.2014, 1 ♀, TC. Notes: This species was previously reported from Malta by SIMBOLOTTI & VAN ACHTERBERG (1992:43) and based on this record the species was reported again as occurring in Malta in the online database of Fauna Europaea (VAN ACHTERBERG, 2013). In the western Palaearctic Region, B. tumidulus is widely distributed and it is a frequent to commonly found species. Nearest to Malta, this species is also known to occur in Italy, Greece and Morocco. Subfamily Alysiinae Leach, 1815 *Chorebus (Phaenolexis) larides (Nixon, 1944) Material examined: Malta, Verdala Palace, 12–24.vi.2014, 1 ♀, Malaise trap, DM. Notes: This species was described from England and is reported from seven other European countries (Sweden, Ireland, Spain, Hungary, Serbia, Macedonia and Ukraine). It is best regarded as a rather sporadic species. Subfamily Brachistinae Förster, 1862 *Triaspis floricola (Wesmael, 1835) Material examined: Malta, Mosta, 20.v.2014, 1 ♀, DM. Notes: A widely distributed species in the southern half of Europe. Nearest to Malta, T. floricola is also known from Italy, Greece and Algeria. *Triaspis obscurella (Nees, 1816) Material examined: Malta, St. Thomas Bay, Tal-Munxar, 25.v.2002, 1 ♂, DM. Notes: A Palaearctic species which is frequently to commonly found in Europe. Nearest to Malta, T. obscurella is also known from Italy and Greece. Subfamily Braconinae Nees, 1811 *Bracon (Bracon) intercessor var. fallaciosus (Szépligeti, 1901) Material examined: Malta, Għar Lapsi, host collected 23.xii.2002, 1 ♂ and 1 ♀, emerged between 10–13.iii.2003, from larva of Agapanthia asphodeli (Latreille) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), DM. Notes: This species is widely distributed in the West Palaearctic Region. Nearest to Malta, this species is also recorded from Morocco, Spain, Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Turkey. 96 J. PAPP *Bracon (Bracon) kozak Telenga, 1936 Material examined: Malta, Għargħur, 15.x.2013, 1 ♂ and 1 ♀, from unidentified larva feeding on Pistacia lentiscus, MZG. Notes: Bracon kozak represents a typical forest-steppe species widely distributed in the Palaearctic Region. Nearest to Malta, the species is also known to occur in Turkey. *Bracon (Bracon) murgabensis Tobias, 1957 Material examined: Malta, Ħad Dingli, 12.iv.2009, 1 ♂ and 1 ♀, emerged from larva of Coleophora festivella Toll (Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae) feeding on Lotus cytisoides, MZ. Notes: A forest-steppe species found in the Palaearctic Region. Nearest to Malta this species is also recorded from Moldova and Azerbaijan. *Bracon (Bracon) pectoralis (Wesmael, 1838) Material examined: Malta, Mosta, 15.v.2014, 1 ♂, TC. Notes: A frequently to commonly found species in the western Palaearctic Region. Nearest to Malta, B. pectoralis is also reported from Greece, Italy, Tunisia and Algeria. *Bracon (Pigeria) piger (Wesmael, 1838) Material examined: Malta, Verdala Palace, 12–24.vi.2014, 1 ♀, Malaise trap, DM. Notes: A frequently to commonly found species in the western Palaearctic Region. Nearest to Malta, this species is also reported from Greece, Italy, Tunisia and Algeria. Pigeria is sometimes given full generic status (VAN ACHTERBERG, 2013), however, I consider it as a subgenus of Bracon (PAPP, 2012: 83). *Bracon (Cyanopterobracon) urinator (Fabricius, 1793) Material examined: Malta, Aħrax tal-Mellieħa, 26.v.2014, 2 ♀♀, TC. Notes: A widely distributed species and frequently to commonly found in the Palaearctic Region. Nearest to Malta, B. urinator is also known to occur in Greece, Italy, Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt. *Habrobracon hebetor (Say, 1836) Material examined: Malta, Zejtun, 20.viii.2013, 1 ♀ & 1 ♂, associated with stored beeswax, DM (material deposited in the National Museum of Scotland). Notes: This species is included in the present work on the authority of Dr Mark Shaw of the National Museum of Scotland who identified the above mentioned material. This species was always called Bracon (Habrobracon) hebetor (Say), but in the online database of Fauna Europaea (VAN ACHTERBERG, 2013) it is recorded as B. brevicornis (Wesmael) because that author considers that hebetor is a Nearctic species and that the European brevicornis is distinct. The braconid wasps of Malta 97 *Habrobracon stabilis (Say, 1836) Material examined: Malta, Naxxar, xi–xii.2006, 3 ♂♂ and 3