Elampus Spinola, 1806

Lucena, Daercio A. A., Santos-Neto, Pedro E., Zanella, Fernando C. V. & Almeida, Eduardo A. B., 2022, Taxonomic review of the elampine cuckoo wasps from northeastern Brazil (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae), with the description of three new species, Zootaxa 5213 (3), pp. 201-235 : 204

Genus Elampus Spinola

These wasps are represented in all biogeographic regions except Australian, with their highest diversity found in the Palearctic and Nearctic regions (e.g., Huber & Pengelly 1978, Kimsey & Bohart 1991). Some Nearctic and Palearctic species are cleptoparasites of ground-nesting Crabronidae ( Huber & Pengelly 1978, Kimsey & Bohart 1991, Kimsey 2006, Evans & O’Neill 2007). There is no record of hosts for the Neotropical species. This genus is easily distinguished from other Elampini in South America based on the following combination of unique features: T3 distal margin produced medially, forming a snout-like process; female profemur ventrally keeled; metanotum produced, forming a mucronate-like sclerite; and female gena usually with a row of erect, even setae. Lucena & Gomes (2016) described a new species from northern Brazil, reviewed previously described ones, and presented a key for the species recorded in South America. In that study, Elampus aequinoctialis Ducke, 1901 was found to be a junior synonym of E. gayi Spinola, 1851 , following the previous interpretation by Ducke (1911). The examination of additional material from Argentina, Brazil, and Chile revealed morphological differences between these species, as detailed below. In Brazil, this genus is currently represented by three species: E. aequinoctialis Ducke, 1901 , E. macuxi Lucena, 2016 (in Lucena & Gomes 2016), and E. pulchricollis Ducke, 1911 . Only E. aequinoctialis Ducke is recorded in northeastern Brazil.