Subspecies
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No
subspecies are recognized.
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Synonyms
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Sphex
anomalipes Panzer, 1798
Oxyurus
anomalipes (Panzer, 1798)
Helorus
anomalipes (Panzer, 1798)
Helorus
anomalipes anomalipes (Panzer, 1798)
Helorus ater
Latreille, 1802
Copelus
paradoxus Provancher, 1881 (unclear synonym)
Helorus paradoxus
(Provancher, 1881)
Helorus
anomalipes bifoveolata Gregor, 1938
Helorus
coruscus nigrotibia Hellen, 1941 (unclear
synonym)
Helorus
coruscus auct. nec Haliday, 1857
(misidentification)
Helorus
corruscus auct. nec Dalla-Torre, 1898, nec
Haliday, 1857 (misidentification, misspelling)
The
epithet nigrotibia has been described as a
race of Helorus coruscus, but is placed in the
synonymy of Helorus anomalipes by Townes
(1977). However, it might as well be a
synonym of Helorus
nigripes. Unfortunately, the whereabouts
of the types are not known and the nature of
nigrotibia cannot be established.
The
taxon Copelus paradoxus is placed in the
synonymy of Helorus anomalipes by Townes
(1977). However, this taxon has been
described from Canada and thus quite a
distance from the type locality of Sphex
anomalipes (Germany). Indeed, Townes
(1977) finds that nearctic specimens of
his Helorus anomalipes constantly differ from
the European ones. It seems likely, therefore,
that the Nearctic records represent a separate
bona species for which the name Helorus
paradoxus would apply.
Helorus
nigripes, that has been described by Foerster
in 1856,
has sometimes been considered to be identical
or a form of Helorus anomalipes. However, as
already stated by Townes
(1977), the original description by
Foerster very clearly mentions the coarse
rugose structure of the cuticle of the
mesonotum, that is characteristic of this
species and I follow Townes
(1977) in synonymizing Helorus nigripes
and Helorus rugosus.
Several
authors have recognized the variability of
coloration and cuticle sculpture in this
species (e.g. Pschorn-Walcher
1955), while the other species of the
genus are much less variable. This could
indicate that the species Helorus anomalipes
in reality consists of several cryptic
species. Alternatively, it has been argued
that the other species fall into the
variability within Helorus anomalipes and
should all be synonymized (e.g. Schmiedeknecht
1907). This uncertainty about the nature
of Helorus anomalipes is also the reason why
so many misidentifications have occurred in
the past (see also synonymy lists of the other
species of this genus). The Helorus species
that are recognized here are confidently
considered as bonae species. The question
whether further cryptic species may be
contained in Helorus anomalipes awaits further
studies.
Original
spelling: Sphex anomalipes
Panzer
GWF (1798). Faunae Insectorum Germaniae. Heft
52, plate 23 and legend.
Locus
typicus: "Germania" (at Panzer´s time
comprising most of Central Europe, but here
interpreted as Germany), no specific location
given. The whereabouts of the type specimen(s)
are not known.
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Identification
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Forewing
length: 3,1 to 3,8 mm. Very variable in terms
of color and cuticle sculpture. It can be
distinguished from the other German species by
its short and broad petiolus and the
pterostigma, which is the longest and thinnest
of all German species.
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Distribution
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Widely
distributed in Europe. Recorded from
Switzerland, Austria, Germany, the
Netherlands, Belgium, Czech and Slovak
Republic, Scandinavia, France, Poland,
Hungary, Bulgaria, Spain, Portugal, the
Balcans, and the UK. Also recorded from the
Lebanon, Turkey and Mongolia. The records from
northern America may refer to a different
species (see above).
Germany:
Schleswig-Holstein, Brandenburg and Berlin,
Nordrhein-Westfalen, Hessen, Niedersachsen,
Rheinland-Pfalz, Baden-Württemberg, Bayern.
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Biology
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The
commonest German species, but it appears to
avoid dry habitats; this may be due to the
biology of the host species that prefers
forest or bush habitats. Adults have been
collected in June to October, with a maximum
in August. In Europe the species appears to
parasitize exclusively in the lacewing
Chrysoperla carnea (or at least in a species
of this species complex). However, there are
also unconfirmed reports of the host
Dichochrysa prasina (Pschorn-Walcher
1955). The record of Hemerobius spec. as
a host (Kieffer
1914) is either based on a
misidentification of the host, or caused by a
misapplication of the genus name, because the
genus name Hemerobius was frequently used for
true lacewings (e.g. Chrysoperla and Chrysopa)
in the 19th and early 20th century. For the
American specimens (which may be a separate
species; see above) the species Chrysopa
nigricornis Burmeister, 1839 (=Chrysopa
majuscula) has been reported.
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