Hedychridium frontale Rosa, Proshchalykin & Halada, 2021

Rosa, Paolo, Proshchalykin, Maxim Yu. & Halada, Marek, 2021, Additions to the cuckoo wasps (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae) of Mongolia, with description of eleven new species, ZooKeys 1068, pp. 149-187 : 149

Hedychridium frontale Rosa, Proshchalykin & Halada sp. nov.

Figures 10A, C, E and F

Material examined.

Holotype: ♀, Mongolia: Bayankhongor, 86 km NW of Bayankhongor, 46°50'N; 100°04'E, 2070 m alt., 13-15.VII.2004, leg. JS (MSNM) . Paratype: 1 ♀, Govi-Altai, 70 km E of Altay City, Guulin , 14.VII.2005, leg. PT (PTC) .

Diagnosis.

Hedychridium frontale sp. nov. is characterised by wide, polished interspaces on brow; scapal basin finely microridged medially only on lower half, from mid-face to clypeus; clypeal apical margin bordered by a thick brownish rim 3 × MOD long; head concolorous green, with a bluish highlight laterally to clypeus; S2 without metallic spot.

Description.

Female. Body length 4.5-5.0 mm (holotype 4.7 mm). Head. Face flat, brow convex above scapal basin (Fig. 10A ); brow with small (0.3 × MOD) punctures, with wide, polished interspaces (1-3 × PD); scapal basin finely, transversely microridged in the lower half, close to clypeus; face micropunctate laterally and with short, appressed, whitish setae close to clypeus; longitudinal mid-line complete from frons to clypeus; vertex with small, dense punctures; area in front of anterior ocellus and lateral to posterior ocelli depressed; ocellar triangle isosceles, without ocellar line; malar spaces micropunctate; clypeus apically bordered by slightly arcuate, elongate (3 × MOD), brown thickening; mandibles bidentate, yet subapical tooth blunt; mouthparts elongate; vertex and sides with short, sparse whitish setae. Relative length of P:F1:F2:F3 = 1.0:1.1:0.8:0.7; OOL = 2.0 × MOD; POL = 2.1 × MOD; MS = 1.0 × MOD. Mesosoma. Pronotum narrowed anteriorly and with sharp edge on anterior margin; coarse, irregular, umbilicate punctures of different size, with polished to corrugated interspaces and small punctures on interspaces; mesonotum with wide interspaces, wider on lateral areas; punctures slightly larger at base of mesoscutum and on mesoscutellum, with scattered small punctures; mesopleuron with dense punctures of different size, without polished interspaces; posterior propodeal projections acute, divergent; median area of metapostnotum (median area of postnotum situated between the propodeum and T1) triangular, narrower than in other species of H. ardens group; metatibia flat, with black spot covering almost its full length; metatarsomere 2 slightly longer than metatarsomere 3; pro-, mesopleuron and femora with long whitish setae. Metasoma. T1-T3 with minute, punctures; punctures slightly denser antero-dorsally on T2; large punctures mixed to minute punctures laterally; punctation overall with wide, polished interspaces; apical margin of T3 bordered by a relatively wide hyaline rim (0.25 × MOD); S2 with sparse, minute punctures bearing long setae (up to 3 × MOD), without metallic spot. Colouration. Head metallic green, with bluish reflections close to clypeus; propodeum blue; metasoma golden laterally and red to purplish dorsally; scape, pedicel and flagellum black; tegulae non-metallic brown; femora and tibiae green on outer side, black to dark violet in ventral view; tarsi brownish, darker distally; wing membrane infuscate.

Male. Unknown.

Etymology.

The specific epithet Hedychridium frontale derives from the Latin adjective frontalis (forehead) and refers to the different sculpture and colouration of this species compared with the common and widespread H. ardens .

Comparative diagnosis.

We describe Hedychridium frontale sp. nov. in the Hedychridium ardens species group. This species is closely related to Hedychridium ardens (Coquebert, 1801), yet some diagnostic morphological characters clearly separate it. Brow more convex above scapal basin; different sculpture, with wide, polished interspaces (Fig. 10A ) [vs. densely punctate in H. ardens (Fig. 10B )]; scapal basin medially, finely microridged only on lower half, from mid-face to clypeus (vs. microridged area longitudinally more expanded); lateral micropunctures from mid- eye to malar space (vs. more extended); clypeal apical margin bordered by a thick brownish rim 3 × MOD long (vs. not longer than 2 × MOD); head concolorous green, with a bluish highlight laterally to clypeus (vs. bicolour with purplish vertex, greenish brow and blue face); mouthparts more elongate; median area of metapostnotum (median area of postnotum situated between the propodeum and T1) smaller (compare Fig. 10C and D ); metasomal with sparser punctures (Fig. 10C ); S2 without metallic spot (vs. with metallic spot); legs black to dark purple in ventral view (vs. greenish).

Distribution.

Mongolia (Bayankhongor, Govi-Altai).

Figures

Figure 10. Hedychridium frontale sp. nov., female, paratype (A, C, E, F) and H. ardens (Coquebert), female (from Mongolia) (B, D) A head, frontal view C metasoma, postero-lateral view E habitus, dorsal view F habitus, lateral view B head, frontal view D metasoma, postero-lateral view. Scale bars: 1 mm.