Chrysis lyubae, Rosa, 2019

Rosa, Paolo, 2019, A new remarkable species in the Chrysis ignita group (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae) and an overview on Central Asian species, with new synonymies, Linzer biologische Beiträge 51 (1), pp. 397-417 : 399-402

Chrysis lyubae nov.sp. ( Figs 3 , 4-8)

M a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: Holotype ♀, Kazakhstan:20kmN[possiblyE?] Kegen , 43.0°N ̅ 79.0°E, 24.v.1994, leg. K. Deneš jr. (type deposited at BZL).

D i a g n o s i s: Despite the Chrysis ignita group includes more than a hundred species, only a few are entirely red or red with pink and purple colours: Chrysis mane SEMENOV, 1912 (known from China: Gansu, Qinghai, Inner Mongolia; Russia: Eastern Siberia, Buryatia, new record, Fig. 1 , 13-16), C. kukunorensis SEMENOV, 1967 ( China: Qinghai, Gansu, Fig. 17 ), C. matutina SEMENOV, 1967 ( China: Gansu, Hubei, Fig. 18 ), C. violenta LINSENMAIER, 1968 (North India, Pakistan, Tibet, Nepal, Fig. 2 , 9-14), C. violenta ultramonticola LINSENMAIER, 1968 (Tibet, Nepal). Three of these, Chrysis lyubae nov.sp., C. violenta and C. violenta ultramonticola belong to the Chrysis ruddii subgroup, for short pronotum, its length less than one fourth of its width; F1 fully black or largely non-metallic; scapal basin with dense, appressed, white pubescence. Chrysis lyubae nov.sp. can be easily recognised from C. violenta and C. violenta ultramonticola by its colour pattern with metasoma fully purple-rosy, without contrasting blue-purple bands on the second and third tergum; vertex, mesoscutum and tegulae dark purple, contrasting with the rest of red-rosy mesosoma; mesoscutum with a median rosy spot; C. kukunorensis, C. mane and C. matutina are conversely fully red and museum specimens are often golden to greenish. Chrysis lyubae nov.sp. can be morphologically separated by the M-like TFC (vs. straight in C. violenta); short malar spaces (vs. elongated); punctures on scapal basin smaller than punctures close to eye (vs. punctures of the same size); metasoma completely dull, with dense coriaceous microsculpture between punctures (vs. dense large punctures in C. violenta and dense small punctures in C. violenta ultramonticola); apical teeth of the third metasomal tergum short, triangular, with central interval narrower and more angulate (vs. apical teeth longer, the central interval wider); black spots on the second sternum longer, with a reduced violet tint in between and apically (vs. second sternum largely metallic red, with smaller black spots). Chrysis kukunorensis, C. mane and C. matutina are separated by elongated shape of metasoma in dorsal view (see also pictures in ROSA et al. 2017a), and differently shaped apical margin of the third tergum ( Fig. 12 , 16 ̅18).

D e s c r i p t i o n:

Body length 10.0 mm. Fore wing length 7.0 mm. Female. OOL = 2.3 MOD; POL = 1.2 MOD; MS = 1.0 MOD; relative length of P: F1: F2: F3 = 1.0: 2.1: 1.4: 1.3.

Head: In full face view, length 1.5 mm, width 2.7 mm. Apex of clypeus slightly arched; TFC strong, M-like, its distal margin ending less than 1.0 MOD far to eye margin; scapal basin with very dense and fine punctation, transversally subcontiguous; punctures on face covered with dense, appressed, silvery setae; punctures on vertex and occiput small, dense. Malar space 1.0 MOD long, as long as one third of F1. Subantennal distance less than 1.0 MOD. Subgenal carina complete, extending to mandible joint. Mandible without subapical tooth; in lateral view, mandible relatively thick, its sides gradually converging towards apex and basally.

Mesosoma: Length 3.5 mm; width (PPW) 2.4 mm. Pronotum with large anteromedian groove; punctation deep, coarse, uneven, and mostly contiguous. Mesoscutum with dense, small to medium-sized punctures, larger basally among notauli, with very narrow polished interstices; lateral area of mesoscutum with scattered punctures and tiny dots on polished interstices; notauli complete and parapsidal lines hardly visible medially; notauli with deep, round pits, decreasing from posterior to anterior end. Mesoscutellum with irregular, double punctation, with smaller punctures at sides and posteriorly. Metanotum with larger, subreticulate punctures of different size; on anterior margin with a row of elongate foveae. Mesopleuron with episternal sulcus formed by deep and large foveae. Propodeal teeth large, hardly divergent, pointing backwards.

Metasoma: Length 4.6 mm. T1 with double punctures, larger and scattered medially, with tiny punctures on interstices. T2 antero-medially densely punctured, with uneven punctures and tiny punctures on interstices; punctures scattered posteriorly, with larger polished interstices a few tiny punctures. T3 with small, even, very dense punctures, without polished interstices, covering the whole tergum, including post-pit row; pits of the pit row small, round and deep; apical teeth short, triangular, pointed, subequal in length, and with similar indenture, the median one less wider and more arcuate. Median longitudinal carina hardy visible on T2 and T3. Black spots on S2 large, elongate, medially separated (about 1 MOD) ( Fig. 7 ).

Colouration: Red-rosy. Head, with vertex and occiput entirely dark violet; pronotum laterally with larger punctures with black bottom; mesoscutum dark violet to black, with a medial, rosy spot; tegulae rosy anteriorly and dark violet to black posteriorly. Second and third metasomal tergum dorsally purplish. Second metasomal sternum basally and third one entirely black; first sternum partly and second one medially purplish. Mandibles dark brown, basally red-rosy. Scape and pedicel metallic rosy, flagellomeres black. Legs rosy, hind femur and tibia black on inner side; tarsi brown, darker on the last tarsomere. Wings hyaline on outer margins, distinctly brownish from medial to discoidal cell.

Vestiture: Pubescence on vertex and dorsally on mesosoma dense, moderately long (1.0 MOD), with erect and whitish or slightly brown setae; metasoma laterally with short erect setae; on femora and tibiae with sparse, erect and short setae, longer ventrally on femora.

Male. Unknown.

D i s t r i b u t i o n: Kazakhstan.

E t y m o l o g y: The specific epithet lyubae (feminine name in genitive case) is named after my wife Lyuba Zaytseva (Bernareggio, Italy) in recognition of his continuous help in my study of cuckoo wasps.

D i s c u s s i o n: Currently thirty-four species of the Chrysis ignita group are known for Central Asian countries ( Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) (DU BUYSSON 1896; LINSENMAIER 1959, 1997; MOCSÁRY 1912 a, 1912b; RADOSZKOWSKI 1889; ROSA 2018, 2019; ROSA et al. 2017a, 2017b, 2017c, 2017d, 2017e; SEMENOV 1903, 1912, 1967; SEMENOV & NIKOL̕SKAYA 1954; TARBINSKY 1996, 2000; VINOKUROV, 2006). A few of them are also known for the Chinese Xinjiang, e.g. Chrysis csikiana MOCSÁRY, 1912, C. keriensis MOCSÁRY, 1889 and C. kashgarica MOCSÁRY, 1912 ( ROSA 2018; ROSA et al. 2014). Yet, the number of species is significantly underestimated and further research will definitely reveal a number of new species.

In the last years, a revision of the type material ( ROSA et al. 2017a, 2017e, unpubl records) has changed species placement in some groups. In particular, six species included by KIMSEY & BOHART (1991) in the Chrysis ignita group were moved to other species groups, as well as two species described by TARBINSKY (2000). More in detail, C. alaica belongs to the C. cerastes group; C. araxana MOCSÁRY, 1893 to the C. maculicornis

group; C. draco MOCSÁRY, 1912 to the C. subsinuata group; Chrysis lanata MOCSÁRY, 1912, C. regalis MOCSÁRY, 1912, C. sapphirus SEMENOV, 1967 and C. korneevi TARBINSKY, 2000 belong to the Chrysis facialis group. Moreover, two of these species proved new synonymies: Chrysis korneevi TARBINSKY, 2000 nov.syn. of Chrysis regalis MOCSÁRY, 1912 (in particular, C. korneevi is the male of C. regalis) and Chrysis anastasiae TARBINSKY, 2000 nov.syn. of Chrysis dentipes RADOSZKOWSKI, 1877.

TARBINSKY (2000) provided a revision of the Chrysis ignita group of the Tian Shan, with keys, descriptions, distributions and line drawings. A preliminary revision of his collection at IBPB resulted in discovery of a series of misidentifications (e.g. the series of specimens identified as Chrysis chinensis MOCSÁRY, 1912 included specimens of C. longula ABEILLE DE PERRIN, 1879; C. longula included specimens of the taczanovskii group; C. rutiliventris included specimens close to C. mediata LINSENMAIER, 1951; C. mediata included C. angustula SCHENCK, 1856; and the same situation was observed for almost all the other species identified in the C. ignita group), which will be dealt with at length in another work. However, a few Tarbinsky̕s species, clearly synonyms, are already discussed in the present paper. Besides the above mentioned Chrysis korneevi and C. anastasiae, not belonging to the C. ignita group, other synonymies are Chrysis crebropilosa TARBINSKY, 2000 nov.syn. of Chrysis csikiana MOCSÁRY, 1912; Chrysis talassica TARBINSKY, 2000 nov.syn. of Chrysis inaequipunctata BISCHOFF, 1910; Chrysis viridodentata TARBINSKY, 2000 nov.syn. of Chrysis castigata LINSENMAIER, 1959; finally, Chrysis ignita var. fulgidaeformis BISCHOFF, 1930 nov.syn. of C. uljanini RADOSZKOWSKI, 1877, after examination of the types housed at MNHU.

Figures

Figs 1-3: Habitus: (1) Chrysis mane SEMENOV; (2) Chrysis violenta LINSENMAIER; (3) Chrysis lyubae nov.sp.

Figs 15-18: Chrysis mane: (15) metasoma, ventral view; (16) metasoma, posterior view. Chrysis kukunorensis: (17) metasoma, ventral view. Chrysis matutina: (18) metasoma, posterior view.

Figs 9-14: Chrysis violenta: (9) face, frontal view; (10) metasoma, dorso-lateral view; (11) metasoma, ventral view; (12) metasoma posterior view. Chrysis mane: (13) face, frontal view; (14) metasoma, dorso-lateral view.

Figs 4-8: Chrysis lyubae nov.sp.: (4) habitus, lateral view; (5) face, frontal view; (6) second and third tergum, dorso-lateral view; (7) metasoma, ventral view; (8) metasoma, posterior view.