Eupristina aff. verticillata Waterston, 1921

Pérez-Gómez, Álvaro, Sánchez-García, Íñigo, Royo, José Manuel, Rasplus, Jean-Yves & Robla, Jairo, 2025, Unveiling an intricate relationship: Ficus trees, their associated wasps (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea) and another story of invasion in the Iberian Peninsula and Europe, Journal of Hymenoptera Research 98, pp. 667-687 : 667-687

Eupristina aff. verticillata Waterston, 1921

Material studied.

Spain: • Cádiz: Jerez de la Frontera ( Zoobotánico de Jerez ): 2 ♂ + 2 ♀ ex., Í. Sánchez leg. and MNCN_Ent 235062 deposit., 7-XII-2018, 82 m a. s. l, found in dissected syconia of Ficus microcarpa (36.689315, -6.150638) . • Alicante: San Vicente del Raspeig ( Universidad de Alicante ): 10 ♀ + 7 ♂ ex., J. M. Royo leg. and AC deposit. 5-VII-2023, 92 m a. s. l, found dissecting fallen syconia of Ficus microcarpa . This day, several specimens were seen flying close to the tree (38.384264, -0.512455). See in Fig. 1 A .

Ecological remarks.

Pollinator of Ficus microcarpa . Also mentioned to be associated with Ficus benjamina L. but without additional data ( Falcó-Garí et al. 2010), probably misidentified.

Distribution.

This pollinator was described from Malaysia ( Waterston 1921) and have been subsequently cited from Indonesia and Philippines ( Grandi 1926), although these last records may be based on misidentification. The species is supposed to be native in China or Japan ( Grandi 1927 b; Ishii 1934; Corner 1965) and has been introduced in numerous countries with its host plants ( van Noort and Rasplus 2024). Falcó-Garí et al. (2010) has not provided specific data for the eastern localities of Spain. Thus, we can consider this the first confirmed record for the Iberian Peninsula. Furthermore, this species was cited from continental Europe in Italy ( Lo Verde et al. 2007) and Greece ( Koutsoukos et al. 2025). Moreover, it was cited from several islands such as Sicily ( Italy) ( Lo Verde et al. 1991), Cyprus ( Demetriou et al. 2023), Madeira ( Koponen and Askew 2002), Canary and Balearic islands ( Báez 1998; Carnero et al. 1998; Wang et al. 2015 a, 2015 b), and various Greek islands such as Crete, Cyclades, Dodecanese islands or Ionian islands ( Wang et al. 2015 a, 2015 b; Koutsoukos et al. 2025) where F. microcarpa is a frequent ornamental tree.

Short description.

Female with head subquadrate, shorter than wide across compound eyes which are as long as the gena; with antennal scrobes separated. Antennae filiform; flagellar segments (except for the proximal two) with a whorl of long black sensilla chaetica ( Wiebes 1992; Bouček 1993). Dorso-apical comb of fore tibia bearing two teeth; the hypopygium has a short acute spine. Body flattened. Pronotum extended laterally. Mesonotum and propodeum fused, the limit between them only marked by short lateral septa ( Wiebes 1992). Fore leg with three tarsomeres; mid and hind legs with four tarsomeres. Molecular analyses have demonstrated that E. verticillata , as presently understood, is in fact a species complex of at least three species ( Sun et al. 2011; Wang 2014; Compton et al. 2020 b). This may explain the discrepancies observed in diagnostic characters used by several authors, such as the ovipositor length, which has been classified as shorter ( Wiebes 1992) or longer ( Bouček 1993) than the gaster.

Figures

Figure 1. Wasps cited in this work A female of Eupristina aff. verticillata Waterston, 1921 B Walkerella microcarpae Bouček, 1993 C female and D male of Pleistodontes imperialis Saunders, 1883 E female and F males of Philotrypesis okinavensis Ishii, 1934 G Eufroggattisca okinavensis (Ishii, 1934) H Josephiella microcarpae Beardsley & Rasplus, 2001.