Chrysis succincta species group

Rosa, Paolo, Baiocchi, Daniele, Halada, Marek & Proshchalykin, Maxim Yu., 2021, A new species and new records of cuckoo wasps from Pakistan and India (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae), Journal of Hymenoptera Research 84, pp. 283-294 : 283

Chrysis succincta species group

Chrysis succincta group: Linsenmaier 1959: 92 (key), 106 (diagn.). Kimsey and Bohart 1991: 324 (key), 363 (diagn.).

Chrysis succincta s.str. subgroup: Kimsey and Bohart 1991: 362 (diagn.).

Chrysis autocrata group: Linsenmaier 1997: 275, syn. nov.

Diagnosis.

The Chrysis succincta species group includes more than a hundred species distributed worldwide, with a large majority known in the Palaearctic region, and subdivided into Chrysis succincta s.str. subgroup and leachii subgroup (or leachii group according to Linsenmaier 1959). Usually, Palaearctic species are easily recognised by their slender habitus and by their peculiar colouration, with the body largely red coloured. The most diagnostic feature is anyhow the prominent brow, often ridge-like, and the transverse frontal carina which is usually only partially developed; females scapal basin is always polished medially in the Chrysis succincta s.str. subgroup, whereas it is finely striated in the leachii subgroup, while in males it is finely punctate in both subgroups. The apical margin of tergum III is highly variable, bearing from none to four teeth or two median teeth almost fused together and projecting medially.

Hosts.

Crabronidae ( Pauli et al. 2019).

Remarks.

Linsenmaier (1997) established the Chrysis autocrata species group, based on Chrysis autocrata Nurse, 1903. After type examination of the latter, we propose the new synonymy Chrysis variana du Buysson, 1901 = Chrysis autocrata Nurse, 1903, syn. nov. Chrysis variana (see pictures of the type in Rosa et al. 2020) is a widespread Central Asian species of the Chrysis succincta group (known from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan and Pakistan), and apparently unknown to Linsenmaier, as it is not listed in his papers and was not found in his collection. Consequently, we synonymize the Chrysis autocrata species group with the Chrysis succincta species group, because it is not sufficiently supported by morphological diagnostic characters. During the examination of the Palaearctic types of cuckoo wasps, the first author also observed that the holotype of Chrysis ewridica Tarbinsky, 2001 (described from Kyrgyzstan, Jalal-Abad) is a female of Chrysis variana and therefore we here propose also the new synonymy Chrysis variana du Buysson, 1901 = Chrysis ewridica Tarbinsky, 2001, syn. nov.