Xyela cf. altenhoferi Blank, 2013 is recorded from Buskett (Malta). Its host is Pinus halepensis. This is the first species of the sawfly family Xyelidae to be found in the Maltese Islands.peer-reviewe

Liston, Andrew D.

Mifsud, David

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ABSTRACT. Xyela cf. altenhoferi Blank, 2013 is recorded from Buskett (Malta). Its host is Pinus halepensis. This is the first species of the sawfly family Xyelidae to be found in the Maltese Islands.KEY WORDS. Mediterranean, Xyela cf. altenhoferi, Pinus halepensis.INTRODUCTION  The Xyelidae is the earliest known family of Hymenoptera in the fossil record, with the oldest members dating from the Early Triassic some 220 million years ago (Blank, 2002). The majority of extant xyelids belong to the genus Xyela, which currently includes 28 Eurasian species (Blank et al., 2013). The larvae of all European species live in the male cones of pines (Pinus spp.), where they feed on the sporophylls (Blank et al., 2013).  Species richness of Xyela is considerably higher in the Mediterranean Region than in more northern parts of Europe (Blank et al., 2013). Nevertheless, the genus is generally under-recorded in the Mediterranean. The main reasons for this are probably the small size of the adults, combined with their short and often early flight period.MATERIAL AND METHODS  The material listed below was collected using a Malaise trap located in the private grounds of the Verdala Palace, close to Buskett (35.86198°N, 14.40162°E; altitude 220m). This area represents one of the otherwise very rare semi-natural pine woodlands found in the Maltese Islands. The trap was mainly surrounded by Pinus halepensis.  Specimens were identified using Blank et al. (2013), and are deposited in the private collection of D. Mifsud, and in the Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut, Müncheberg. Stacks of photographs of adults immersed in ethanol were taken with a Leica DFC295 camera through an Olympus SZX12 microscope and converted to composite images using the software CombineZP (http://hadleyweb.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk).First record of the sawfly family Xyelidae (Hymenoptera) from MaltaAndrew D. LISTON1 & David MIFSUD21Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut, Eberswalder Str. 90, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany. E-mail: aliston@senckenberg.de2Institute of Earth Systems, Division of Rural Sciences and Food Systems, University of Malta, Msida MSD 2080, Malta. E-mail: david.a.mifsud@um.edu.mtBulletin of the entomological Society of malta (2016) Vol. 8 :  35–38DOI: 10.17387/BULLENTSOCMALTA.2016.02RESULTSXyela cf. altenhoferi Blank, 2013(Figs. 1-3)1 23Figures 1–3: Xyela cf. altenhoferi, Malta, Buskett. 1, 2: female, dorsal and lateral; 3: male, lateral. Scale lines = 2 mm.Material examined: Malta, Buskett, Verdala Palace, 15.xii.2014-25.i.2015, 35 ♀♀ & 1 ♂, in Malaise trap, leg. D. Mifsud.  This is the first record of Xyelidae from the Maltese Islands. The host plant is most probably Pinus halepensis, this being the main pine species occurring at the collection site; other introduced pine species, namely Pinus brutia and P. pinea have been reported in the Verdala and Buskett areas, but are very rare.DISCUSSION  Blank (in Blank et al., 2013) described Xyela altenhoferi from a series of females reared from Pinus halepensis collected in Croatia. In the same work (p. 68), some other material found at sites with P. halepensis in Algeria, Morocco and Spain was also mentioned. These authors concluded that 36                                                                                                    A. D. LISTON & D. MIFSUD“Such specimens are morphologically extremely similar to X. altenhoferi and X. menelaus [normal host: Pinus nigra] and could not be differentiated here with certainty.” It remains to be established, whether or not the populations on P. halepensis in other countries are conspecific with Croatian X. altenhoferi. Blank et al. (2013) noted that the flight period of X. altenhoferi apparently commences rather early, because the Croatian larvae were collected in the first week of April. Evidently, X. cf. altenhoferi in Malta is even earlier still: flying already in January. A further interesting trait of the species, is that it is possibly mainly parthenogenetic, whereas other Xyela species are all thought to reproduce sexually. No males of X. altenhoferi are known, nor of X. cf. altenhoferi from Algeria, Morocco or Spain. The single male collected in Malta seems, so far, to be unique.  Pinus halepensis is native to the Maltese Islands, as evidenced by various works and summarised in StevenS & Baldacchino (2000), with the latest findings as included in GamBin et al. (2015), which confirm that Pinus pollen had a considerable presence in Malta some 2,000 years ago. Nevertheless, although formerly seemingly frequent, the species was reported as almost extinct in the wild by the beginning of the 20th Century, as indicated by Sommier & caruana Gatto (1915). BorG (1927) later noted that the species in Malta: was “cultivated for ornament; naturalised in …; formerly probably a true native. The ancient trees ... existing in San Antonio Gardens, in the Maglio and elsewhere are said to have been grown from seed produced by trees which formerly existed truly wild at Għajn Żnuber ... and at Wied Żnuber”. A very large pine tree at l-Imġiebaħ (Malta) may actually be a remnant of the original wild stock. The species is now increasing in the wild, and is popular in afforestation schemes. It thus seems likely that although most of the original native stock was destroyed, new plantations were established almost simultaneously. If this is the case, then it is not unlikely that Xyela cf. altenhoferi also had a continuous presence in Malta. On the other hand, this sawfly’s probably largely parthenogenetic mode of reproduction, would make it easily capable of establishing itself after accidental introduction (or natural dispersal on air currents) of just a single individual.  Xyela cf. altenhoferi is the sixth species of sawfly to be recorded from the Maltese Islands. The other five are Tenthredinidae (liSton & Zerafa, 2012).ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS  Dr Stephan M. Blank (SDEI) kindly checked an early draft of the manuscript, which helped to improve this work. Mr Edwin Lanfranco and Mr Darrin Stevens provided much valuable information regarding pine trees in Malta. REFERENCESBlank, S.M. (2002) The Western Palaearctic Xyelidae (Hymenoptera) (Pp. 197–233). In: viitaSaari, M. [ed.], Sawflies (Hymenoptera, Symphyta) I. A review of the suborder, the Western Palaearctic taxa of Xyeloidea and Pamphilioidea. Vol. 1, Helsinki: Tremex. 516 pp.Blank, S.M., Shinohara, A. & altenhofer, E. (2013) The Eurasian species of Xyela (Hymenoptera, Xyelidae): taxonomy, host plants and distribution. Zootaxa, 3629(1): 1–106.BorG, J. (1927) Descriptive flora of the Maltese Islands. Malta Government Printing Office. 846 pp.GamBin, B., andrieu-Ponel, v., méndail, f., marriner, n., Peyron, o., montade, v., GamBin, t., morhanGe, c., Belkacem, d. & dJamali, m. (2015) 7300 years of vegetation history and climate for NW Malta: a Holocene perspective. Climate of the past, 11: 4505–4567.liSton, a.d. & Zerafa, m. (2012) The Sawflies of the Maltese Islands (Hymenoptera, Symphyta). Bulletin of the Entomological Society of Malta, 5: 49–55.First record of the sawfly family Xyelidae from Malta                                                                  37Sommier, S. & caruana Gatto, a. (1915) Flora Melitensis Nova. Firenze: Stabilimento Pellas. 502 pp.StevenS, d.t. & Baldacchino, a.e. (2000) Siġar Maltin, siġar barranin, il-ħarsien tagħhom u l-obbligi nazzjonali u internazzjonali (pp. 53–100). In: Baldacchino, A.E. & StevenS, D.T. [eds.], Is-Siġar Maltin: l-użu u l-importanza. Environment Protection Department, Malta. 135 pp.Received: January 10, 2016Accepted: February 20, 201638                                                                                                    A. D. LISTON & D. MIFSUD

Descriptive flora of the Maltese Islands. Malta Government Printing Office.

méndail, f., marriner, n., Peyron, o., montade, v.,

of the sawfly family Xyelidae from

Siġar Maltin, siġar barranin, il-ħarsien tagħhom u l-obbligi nazzjonali u internazzjonali

The Eurasian species of Xyela (Hymenoptera, Xyelidae): taxonomy, host plants and distribution.

The Sawflies of the Maltese Islands (Hymenoptera,

The Western Palaearctic Xyelidae (Hymenoptera) (Pp.

First record of the sawfly family Xyelidae (Hymenoptera) from Malta

https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/bitstream/handle/123456789/12396/First%20record%20of%20the%20sawfly%20family%20Xyelidae.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

First record of the sawfly family Xyelidae (Hymenoptera) from Malta

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