Nematus leucostictus Hartig, 1837: 202. Described: adult [sex not stated]. Lectotype, ♀, designated by Kopelke (2007a), ZMHUB [examined]. Type locality: " Germania ".
Pontania leucostica: Konow (1890).
Phyllocolpa leucosticta: Benson (1960a).
Pontania (Phyllocolpa) leucosticta: Viitasaari & Vikberg (1985).
Nematus (Phyllocolpa) leucostictus: Zhelochovtsev (1988).
Euura leucosticta: Beneš (2015b).
Nematus klugii Gimmerthal, 1844: 37. Described: ♀. Holotype, ♀: it is not known, whether the specimen still exists. Type locality: Latvia, near Riga. Synonymy with leucosticta by Konow (1905).
Nematus erythropygus Förster, 1854a: 309 –310. Described: ♀. Lectotype, ♀, designated by Kopelke (2007a), ZSM [examined]. Type locality: Germany, near Aachen. Syn. nov.
Phyllocolpa erythropyga: Kopelke (2007a).
Euura erythropyga: Beneš (2015b).
Nematus crassulus Thomson, 1863: 630 –631. Described: ♀, ♂. Lectotype, ♀, designated by Kopelke (2007a), ZMLU [examined]. Type locality: Norway, Norrbotten, Småland, Öland, Blekinge and Skåne [from original description: lectotype without indication of locality]. Synonymy with leucosticta by Konow (1897).
Nematus sharpi Cameron, 1876c: 191 –192. Described: ♀. Syntypes possibly in BMNH [not examined]. Type locality: probably Scotland. Synonymy with N. leucostictus by Dalla Torre (1894).
Pontania ischnoceros var. nigrifrons Konow, 1897: 174 –177. Described: ♀, ♂. Lectotype, ♂, designated by Kopelke (2007a), SDEI [examined]. Type locality: Germany, Teschendorf in Mecklenburg. Synonymy with leucosticta by Kopelke (2007a).
Pontania auberti Zirngiebl, 1957: 173 –174. Described: ♀. Holotype, ♀, Musée Zoologique Cantonale, Lausanne [not examined]. Type locality: Algeria, Saida. Synonymy with leucosticta by Lacourt (1997).
Notes on types and taxonomy. Kopelke (2007a) treated leucosticta and erythropyga as separate species, monophagous respectively on S. caprea and S. aurita. According to his key (Kopelke 2007a: 83), erythropyga differs from leucosticta in its more narrowly pale posterior margin of the pronotum, broader valvulae 3 in dorsal view, shorter cerci, ctenidia present on lancet from annulus 2 (3 in leucosticta), and a very slight difference in the outline of the paravalva of the penis valve. All these characters vary somewhat in the material studied, and do not correlate with the host plant from which they were reared. Accordingly, we treat these nominal taxa as synonymous.
Variability. Female: Body length: 3.8–5.5mm. Male: 3.8–4.6mm. Female and male: lower inner orbits, outer orbits and lateral vertex mainly pale to nearly completely black; extent of pale on pronotum variable. Total number of specimens examined: ca. 100.
Genetic data. The 24 COI barcode sequences available on BOLD under the names Phyllocolpa leucosticta and P. erythropyga, from Italy and Portugal north to Finland, form a single BIN with intraspecific variability of about 1.1%. Nearest European barcoding neighbour, about 6.6% different, is E. polita.
Bionomics. Host plants: Salix aurita, S. caprea (Kopelke 2007a) and S. cinerea (below). Three specimens, from separate rearing batches collected on Salix cinerea at three German localities were reared by J.-P. Kopelke and determined by him as Phyllocolpa prussica, but they clearly belong to leucosticta. Biology: Kopelke (2007a).
Distribution. Nearly throughout Europe north to Finnmark (Taeger et al. 2006, Kopelke 2007a), Turkey, Transcaucasus (Benson 1968), North Africa (Lacourt 1999), Central Asia (Zhelochovtsev & Zinovjev 1995), Yakutia (Popov 2011). Occurrence in Sweden: published records; Skåne (Benander 1966), Blekinge, Småland, Öland, Närke, Dalarna, Gästrikland, Jämtland (Haris 2009), Västerbotten (Kopelke 2007a). Material examined: Skåne, Småland, Västergötland, Uppland, Dalarna, Torne Lappmark.