What We Know and What We Don't Know About I Soscelipteron Ful Vum (Neuropteroidea: Planipennia: Berothidae), a Peculiar Insect O

Biologia Gallo-hellenica Vol. 13. pp. 91-98

4e CONGRES INTERNATIONAL SUR LA ZOOGEOGRAPHIE ET L'ECOLOGIE DE LA GRECE ET DES REGIONS AVOISINANTES - Kammena Vourla, Avril 1987

WHAT WE KNOW AND WHAT WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT I SOSCELIPTERON FULVUM (NEUROPTEROIDEA: PLANIPENNIA: BEROTHIDAE), A PECULIAR INSECT OF THE EUROPEAN FAUNA

By U. ASPl>CK

Introduction

Isoscelipteron fulvum (COSTA) is one of the two European representatives of the family Berothidae. It is intended to focus attention to this almost unknown eastern mediterranean insect which, in spite of its inconspicuous appearance, is so mething out of the ordinary, and therewith to make familiar with the Berothidae on the whole. The classification of the family - about 80 species - into four subfa milies (Cyrenoberothinae, found in South America only, Rhachiberothinae and Nosybinae, restricted to Africa, and Berothinae, known from all continents) goes back to Mac LEOD & ADAMS (1967). A summarizing paper on the present state of knowledge of the family has been published recently (U. ASPl>CK 1986).

Distribution

The Berothidae are predominantly occuring in warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical zones. I. fulvum and the closely related I. glaserellum (U. ASPl>K, H. A SPOCK & HOLZEL (fig. 1), are in a way the northwestern cornerstones of the family (and of the genus) in the Palearctic. In terms of zoogeography, I. fulvum is an expansive pontomediterranean arboreal faunal element. Isoscelipteron COSTA - oc curing in southern Europe, northern Africa, in some parts of Asia and in northern Australia - has the largest distribution that is known of all Berothid genera. This should be emphasized once more though already documented before (e.g. U. A SPOCK 1987, U. ASPl>CK & H. ASPOCK 1980) because of a contrary statement that «no genera, as they are at present understood, can be considered widespread» (NEW 1986).

Variability and morphological characters

A geographically correlated variation within the large distribution area of I. fulvum seems to be evident but the material at hand is not significant enough - neither to get hold of the phenomenon exactly nor to present it convincingly. The variability of the shape of the wings, for instance, is too heavily overlapped by 92

Fig. 1: Isoscelipteron fulvum (COST A): Distribution (black dots); female terminalia (left upper angle); variability of subgenitale. 1. glaserellum (ASPOCK, ASPOCK, HOLZEL): Distribution (black triangles). Abbreviations: epr = ectoproct, gl = gona pophyses laterales, hca = hypocauda, S = sternite, sg = subgenitale, T = tergite. 93 individual variations for a dinstict geographical separation of the different phena. The pop~lation of Crete, however, is slightly but distinely different from Greek and Anatolian phena (fig. 2, 3). It should be mentioned here that the only known record of the I. Julvum from (southern) Italy dates back to the original description of the species (COSTA 1863), there is no further evidence. Whether the Italian phenon differs from the eastern mediterranean phena cannot be decided at present. Scale - like modified hairs are a special character of Berothidae and a curiosity among Neuropteroidea. Numerous species have scales on wings, pronotum, coxae, or abdomen, predominantly in the female; so does 1. Julvum. The female shows scales on both wings, rather inconspicuous in the forewing (fig. 4), dark and seed like in the hindwing (fig. 5). Greek, Anatolian, and Cypriotic females correspond quite well in their scales, Cretean specimens - inspite of their different wing - shape - like - wise. A single female from eastern Turkey (Elazig) (fig. 6) and the only three available females from Iran (north of Shiraz and east of Kasri Shirin) are entirely lacking scales in the forewing. Furthermore a single female from southeastern Turkey (Mut) with an apparently reduced number of scales on the forewing should be mentioned as well as the 0);; two available specimens from Lebanon (Beirut) and Israel (Mt. Maron), both having a few scales only (fig. 7). The assumption that there is a eline with the decreasing numbers of scales from west to east and from north to south can neither be confirmed nor dismissed at the moment. Male and female genitalia are extremely complex, in the male almost monstruous, accentuating the derived state of the genus. It should, however, be mentioned that the external terminalia of the male look inconspicuous, only the females have chara cteristic appendices, the hypocaudae. Neither the hypocaudae nor the internal ge nitalia of the female show a significant variability. But the ventral protuberances of the subgenitale are obviously decreasing in size from west to east and they seem to become smaller and longer from north to south (fig. 1). Nevertheless it has to be kept in mind that these results are based on a few specimens only. The male terminalia are almost entirely occupied by an enormously enlarged composed selerite, the paramere-mediuncus-complex. Specimens from Greece and Anatolia, but also from the islands of Crete and Cyprus coincide quite well in this selerite. One male from eastern Turkey (Elazig), however, remarkable as it shows a distinely shorter paramere-mediuncus-complex (fig. 8-10). As a preliminary interpretation of the phenomena it may be assumed that 1. Julvum is an extremely polymorphic species, with particularly high variability within the marginal populations, or at least a second species exists to which the specimens from Elazig belong. It needs only to be mentioned that they cannot represent a sybspecies of I. fulvum as they are sympatric with it. They might be conspecific with the specimens from Iran inspite of differences in the subgenitale. These differences could be due to a margi nal effect of a species which reaches its western border in Turkey. 94

Fig. 2-3: IsoscelipteronJulvum (COSTA), female, - 2: Elazig, Turkey; 3: Lasithi, Crete.

Biology The biology of I. fulvum is entirely unknown. And this statement is valid for almost the whole family. The small amount of available information has been 95

Fig. 4-5: lsoscelipteron ju/vum (COST A), female, - 4, 5: Vursa, Turkey, forewing (4), hindwing (5). summarized by NEW (1986). There is only one Nearctic species, Lomamyia latipen nis CARPENTER, of which the complete life cycle has been studied, and this species is a true termitophile; for details see TOSCH! (1964), C.A. TAUBER & MJ. TAUBER (986), JOHNSON & HAGEN (I981). As a concept for further studies on !. fulvum it may be supposed that also Palearctic Berothidae are associated with termites.

Acknowledgements

This study is mainly based on material of the collection of the Naturhistorischcs Museum Wien and of the colI. Asp6cK respectively. Cordial thanks to the followi ng persons who have made specimens of !soscelipteron available: E. ARENBERGER (Wien), Dip!. Ing. G. FRIEDEL (Wien), MARGIT GLASER (Wien), Ing. W. GLASER 96

Fig. 6-7: I soscelipteron fulvum (COST A), female, - 6: Elazig, Turkey, forewing; 7: Beirut, Lebanon, forewing. Length of forewings: 9,5 - 11,5 mm. Photo: H. WAPPL.

(Wien), C. HOLZSCHUH (Wien), Dr. J. KLIMESCH (Linz), K. KUSDAS (Linz), Univ. Doz. Dr. H. MALICKY (Lunz), H. REISSER (Wi en), F. RESSL (Purgstall), A. VARTIAN (Wien), and EVA VARTIAN (Wien). Furthermore I thank Dr. P. H. van DOESBURG, Jr. and Dr. D. C. GEIJSKES (Rijksmuseum van Naturlijke Historie, Leiden) and Dr. D. SIMON (University of Tel-Aviv) for the loan of specimens. I wish to express my grateful thanks to my husband, Univ. Prof. Dr. Horst ASPOCK, for critical discussion of the manuscript. 97

0,5 mm

Fig. 8-10: I soscelipteron fulvum (COST A), male, paramere-mediuncus-complex, lateral. - 8: Izmir, Turkey; 9: Psychro, Crete; 10: Elazig, Turkey.

REFERENCES

ASP~CK, U., 1986 - The Present State of Knowledge of the Family Berothidae (Neuropteroi dea: Planipennia). In J. GEPP, H. ASPOCK & H. HOLZEL (ed.): Recent Research in Neuropterology. Proc. 2nd. Int. Sympos. Neuropterol. Hamburg (1984): 87-101. Graz 1986. ASPOCK, U., 1987 - The Berothidae (Neuropteroidea: Planipennia) of the Middle East. Proc. Sympos. «Fauna and Zoogeography of the Middle East». Mainz. ASPOCK, U. & H. ASPOCK, 1980 - Das Genus /soscelipteron COSTA, 1863 (Neuropteroi dea: Planipennia: Berothidae). Z. ArbGem. OSlo Ent. 32: 65-74. COSTA, A., 1863 - Nuovi studii sulla entomologia della Calabria ulteriore. Atti Acad. Sci. }is. mat. 1: 1-80. JOHNSON, J.B. & K.S. HAGEN. 1981 - A neuropterous larva uses an allomone to attack termites. Nature. 289: 506-507. 98

MacLEOD, E.G. & P.A. ADAMS, 1967 - A review of the taxonomy and morphology of the Berothidae, with the description of a new subfamily from Chile (Neuroptera). Psyche. 74: 237-265. NEW, T.R., 1986 - A Review of the Biology of the Neuroptera Planipennia. Neur. Int. Suppl. Ser. 1: 1-57. TAUBER, C.A. & M.J. TAUBER, 1968 - Lomamyia iatipennis (Neuroptera: Berothidae) life history and larval descriptions. Can. Ent. 100: 623-629. TOSCHI, C.A., 1964 - Observations on Lomamyia iatipennis, with a description of the first instar larva (Neuroptera: Berothidae). Pan-Padf. Ent. 40: 21-26.

Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Burgring 7 A-I014 Wien, Austria.

Bibliography of the Neuropterida

Bibliography of the Neuropterida Reference number (r#): 1428

Reference Citation: Aspöck, U. 1987 [1987.??.??]. What we know and what we don't know about Isoscelipteron fulvum (Neuropteroidea: Planipennia: Berothidae), a peculiar insect of the European fauna. Biologia Gallo-Hellenica 13:91-98.

Copyrights: Any/all applicable copyrights reside with, and are reserved by, the publisher(s), the author(s) and/or other entities as allowed by law. No copyrights belong to the Bibliography of the Neuropterida.

Notes:

File: File produced for the Bibliography of the Neuropterida (BotN) component of the Lacewing Digital Library (LDL) Project, 2017.