Strongylogaster

Taxon classification Animalia Hymenoptera Tenthredinidae

† Strongylogaster multifasciata (Geoffroy, 1785)

Material.

Crete; 6♂♂, Marathos, 24.iii.2013. 2♀♀, 4♂♂, Armeni, 25.iii.2013. 1♂, Lakki, 21.iv.2013. 3♂♂, 1♀, Sempronas, 21.iv.2013. 1♀, 13♂♂, Thériso-Drakona, 22.iv.2013. 2♀♀, 3♂♂, Drakona, 22.iv.2013. 9♀♀, 6♂♂, Strovles, 24.iv.2013. 3♀♀, 2♂♂, Agia Irini , 26.iv.2013. 3♀♀, 2♂♂, Agia Irini , 28.iv.2013. 1♂, Topolia, 29.iv.2013. 1♂, Agia, 29.iv.2013. All swept from, or netted near Pteridium aquilinum, which is the only known host in Crete: Schedl 1981, 1993, 2011.

Barcode data.

The barcodes of three sequenced Cretan specimens (DEIGISHym20648-20650) are identical and diverge by a minimum of 3.2% from 24 specimens of Strongylogaster multifasciata collected throughout Europe (from Scotland to the Peloponnese) and Iran (infraspecific variability about 0.5%).

The Cretan specimens all belong to the form described as Strongylogaster cretensis Konow, 1887 , which was regarded as an allopatric local population of Strongylogaster multifasciata by Naito (1996) and Blank (2002). Alternatively, Schedl (2011) treated Strongylogaster cretensis as a distinct species. The Cretan specimens differ from mainland ones in a number of characters:

Further studies, including sequencing of nuclear genes, are required to clarify the status of the Cretan taxon.