Schizomyia buboniae Frauenfeld 1859, new combination
Creators: name: Dorchin, Netta
name: Freidberg, Amnon
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2011
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Cecidomyiidae
Schizomyia
Schizomyia buboniae

description: Schizomyia buboniae (Frauenfeld 1859), new combination
(Figs. 37–38, 41, 45, 47, 49, 56–7, 61, 65–66)
Cecidomyia buboniae Frauenfeld 1859: 325 Schizomyia deverrae Kieffer 1912: 141
Paraschizomyia buboniae Möhn 1961: 5
Characters as in S. botellus except for the following.
Adult: Thorax: Wing: length 2.22–2.58 mm in female (n=7), 2.00– 2.19 mm in male (n=9).
Female abdomen: Tergites 1–5 with posterior row of setae, occasionally few setae on median part, evenly scattered scales, and pair of tiny sensory setae anteriorly; tergite 6 similar but with clear median row of setae. Sternites successively more sclerotized; sternites 2-3 with very weak sclerotization.
Male abdomen: Terminalia (37–38): Apical projection of gonostylus narrow and pronounced, pointed anteriorly. Aedeagus rounded apically. Hypoproct narrow rectangular, with small apical notch.
Larva (third instar): Orange. length 2.26–2.60 mm (n=3). Cephalic apodeme slightly shorter than head capsule. Spatula (Fig. 41) with very wide shaft and two small triangular anterior lobes separated by small triangular notch.
Pupa (Figs. 45, 47, 49): Antennal bases developed into prominent horns, each divided close to apex into two tips; pointed straight forward. Cephalic seta shorter than antennal horn, originating from elevated base. Mid facial area without bulges. Dorsal and lateral parts of abdominal segments (Fig. 49) each evenly covered by short, pointed spinules except for short, crinkled posterior area.
Syntypes of C. buboniae Frauenfeld (Fig. 61): 10 galls, 2Ƥ, Egypt, Sinai, iv.1855 (?). G. Frauenfeld, from Deverra tortuosa; deposited in the Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria (NHMW). All syntypes are pinned; some of the galls have several exuviae sticking from them; the two females are headless. The types were not labeled as such, but two of the galls and one of the females bear the labels “Fr-fld. 1860”, identifying them as parts of the original type series. The remaining galls and female most probably belong to the same series but are labeled as belonging to the Gustav Mayr collection and having been determined by him. We assume that these specimens were given to Mayr by Frauenfeld, and N. Dorchin labeled all 12 specimens as syntypes. The types of S. deverrae Kieffer from Algeria and Tunisia are considered lost.
Other material examined (all on permanent microscope slides): 2Ƥ, 53, Israel, Sedé Boqér, 6.iv.1997, N. Dorchin (13 ZFMK, others TAUI); 23, Israel, Be’er Sheva, 23.iv.2009, N. Dorchin and A. Freidberg; 5Ƥ, 33, 3 larvae (on one microscope slide), 8 pupae (on two microscope slides), Israel, Zomet Goral, 18.iii.2010, N. Dorchin and E. Morgulis (2Ƥ ZFMK, others TAUI). All material from Deverra tortuosa.
Distribution. Algeria (Bou-Saada), Tunisia (Gabes, Gafsa, Matmata, Oued Chahal, 50 km S Sfax), Egypt (Cairo to Suez), Israel (Negev desert: Be’er Sheva, Sedé Boqér, Zomet Goral).
Biology. The species is univoltine, with galls developing from late winter (February) to spring (April). Pupation takes place inside the gall and adults emerge from early- to end of April. As with S. botellus, we assume that eggs are laid on the plant and that first-instar larvae spend the summer in diapause until they begin feeding the next winter. The galls (Figs. 56–57, 65–66) develop on the thin stems of Deverra tortuosa, probably from axillary buds, to form globular aggregations of 10-60 small barrel-shaped units, resulting in a delicate berry-like structure, 1.0– 2.5 cm in diameter. The gall is green when fresh, and soon turns yellow and brown after adult gall-midges emerge from it. Each barrel-shaped unit contains a single larva. A round area of thin epidermis at the tip of each unit forms a cap-like structure that flips open when the pupa breaks out from it (Fig. 66 d, e). Galls are often found with several exuviae sticking from them. The gall does not contain visible mycelia. Old, dry galls remain on the plants for more than a year so that old and new galls may be found on the plants together in spring. The gall-midge larvae are heavily attacked by ectoparasitoids of the family Torymidae and occasionally by endoparasitoids of the genus Inostemma (Platygastridae).
Remarks. Frauenfeld (1859) described the species from Deverra tortuosa in Egypt, providing effective illustrations of the galls (Fig. 65) but only superficial description of the insect. Houard (1912) later recorded this species also from D. chlorantha in Algeria and from D. scoparia in Algeria and Tunisia, accompanied by good illustrations of the galls (Fig. 66). That work also included descriptions of the female, pupa and larva by Kieffer, who described the species as new under the name Schizomyia deverrae. Möhn (1961) later synonymized Kieffer’s species under C. buboniae and reassigned it to his new genus Paraschizomyia, which we synonymize here under Schizomyia (see above). Schizomyia buboniae appears to be closely related to S. botellus and is readily distinguishable from it by its galls and immature stages, as described under S. botellus.
description: Published as part of Dorchin, Netta & Freidberg, Amnon, 2011, The gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) of Apiaceae in Israel, pp. 28-48 in Zootaxa 3044 on pages 43-44, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.203443