On Bulgarian sawflies, including a new species of Empria (Hymenoptera, Symphyta) Author Liston, Andrew Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut, Eberswalder Str. 90, 15374 Muencheberg, Germany andrew.liston@senckenberg.de Author Prous, Marko https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5329-7608 Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut, Eberswalder Str. 90, 15374 Muencheberg, Germany & Department of Zoology, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, 51014 Tartu, Estonia Author Macek, Jan Department of Entomology, National Museum, Cirkusova 1740, 193 00 Praha - Horni Pocernice, Czech Republic text Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 2019 2019-06-14 66 1 85 105 http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/dez.66.34309 journal article http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/dez.66.34309 1860-1324-1-85 6A252079088045A2A9203C0DFEAC79C5 1AA06BAF62AD5064839E99F7B0A713A9 3252231 Empria parvula (Konow, 1892) * Poecilosoma parvula Konow, 1892: 215. Lectotype ♂ GBIF-GISHym3784 (SDEI), here designated. Type locality: Fuerstenberg in Mecklenburg, Germany, Brandenburg. Empria pseudoklugi [ pseudo-klugi sic!] Dovnar-Zapolskij, 1929: 39. Lectotype ♀ ZIN_Empria_8 (ZIN), here designated. Type locality: Sarepta, Volgograd Oblast, Russia. Bulgarian material. Varna : 1♂ (DEI-GISHym88775), Tsonevo 5 km S, 100 m , 42.982N , 27.451E , 06.04.2018 . 1♀ , locality as previous, 08.04.2018 . 1♀ (DEI-GISHym88802), Staro Oryahovo 2 km SW, 120 m , 42.976N , 27.787E , 08.04.2018 . 1♂ , locality as previous, 09.04.2018 . 1♀ , 1♂ , Goren Chiflik 1 km SW, 40 m , 43.001N , 27.621E , 13.04.2018 . Empria parvula has an extensive distribution in Europe ( Taeger et al. 2006 ) and the Palaearctic ( Sundukov 2017 ; Taeger et al. 2018 ). According to morphological characters and genetic data, the species is very closely related to E. pravei . The only clear difference between them is the colouration of the legs in the adults. Legs in E. parvula are usually mostly black with small pale areas, but occasionally the hind tibia can be basally 2/3 whitish or yellowish. Nevertheless, the metafemur appears to be always completely or nearly completely black in E. parvula (Fig. 32 ). In E. pravei , femora are apically and tibiae basally extensively yellowish (Fig. 33 ). There could be differences also in penis valves, but because of the variation within E. parvula , the differences are not always clear (Figs 24-27 ). The valviceps seems to usually expand basally less in E. parvula than in E. pravei (Figs 24-27 ). Host plants and at least colouration of larvae are not different between E. parvula and E. pravei (Figs 34 , 35 ). Based on the sequence data of three genes that we currently have, E. parvula does not form a monophyletic group, particularly because an E. parvula specimen sampled from Bulgaria is closer to E. pravei than to other E. parvula specimens (from Estonia , Greece , and Russian Far East) (Figs 16 , 36 ). Ignoring morphological evidence, our genetic data could be interpreted as indicating either that E. pravei is a synonym of E. parvula , or that E. parvula consists of more than one species. Because in Bulgaria we found E. pravei and E. parvula in the same places at the same time and never observed overlap with regard to leg colouration, we consider E. pravei to be a distinct species. Although the existence of more than one species under the name E. parvula cannot be excluded, the data is also consistent with a single species exhibiting large genetic variation, perhaps connected with the significantly larger population size in E. parvula (distributed throughout the Palaearctic) compared to E. pravei (possibly restricted to areas not far from the Black Sea and south of the Caspian Sea). In other words, non-monophyly of E. parvula could be because of incomplete lineage sorting (maintaining of ancestral polymorphisms) due to large population size (e.g. Degnan and Rosenberg 2009 ). More specimens and genes of both species should be sequenced or mating experiments done to decide more reliably about species boundaries in this case. Figures 24-29. Penis valves of Empria . 24 Empria parvula TUZ615399 ( Estonia ) 25 E. parvula DEI-GISHym88775 ( Bulgaria ) 26 E. pravei DEI-GISHym88735 ( Bulgaria ) 27 E. pravei DEI-GISHym88758 ( Bulgaria ) 28 E. sexpunctata DEI-GISHym88818 ( Bulgaria ) 29 E. aridicola paratype DEI-GISHym80304 ( Greece ). Figures 30-35. Empria species. 30 Empria sexpunctata DEI-GISHym88916, body dorsal; 31 head dorsal. 32 E. parvula DEI-GISHym88913, ventrolateral 33 E. pravei DEI-GISHym88735, ventrolateral. 34 E. parvula larva TUZ615249 ( Estonia ) 35 E. pravei larva, reared ex ovo from DEI-GISHym84166 ( Bulgaria ).