Chrysis leachii, Shuckard, 1837

Rosa, P., 2021, First records of the Chrysis leachii group from sub-Saharan Africa, with description of a new species (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae), Far Eastern Entomologist 437, pp. 16-23 : 17-18

Chrysis leachii species group

Chrysis (Chrysis) leachii group: Linsenmaier 1959: 92 (key to species group); 117–118

(diagnosis, keys), 190 (catalogue of the species); 1999: 161 (diagnosis).

Chrysis succincta-leachii subgroup: 364 (diagnosis, host, discussion).

DIAGNOSIS. Very small to small species (2.5–5.0 mm), usually brightly coloured, with apex of third metasomal tergum edentate or with short median tooth, sometimes lanceolate,

rarely with blunt angles at sides of apical margin (in Chrysis excursa Linsenmaier, 1959

medially notched, yet the placement of this species in the leachii group must be confirmed);

malar spaces short and strongly convergent; scapal basin broadly microridged in both sexes;

transverse frontal carina faint; black spots on sternum II medium (covering about half segment length) to large (covering 2/3rds of segment length), subsquare or subrectangular, separated by a narrow metallic line.

REMARKS. The Chrysis leachii group is a small group of homogeneous species, with similar size, habitus, and colour pattern, with few exceptions. It is closely related to the C.

succincta group, however, females can be immediately separated by the scapal basin broadly microridged (medially polished and laterally micropunctate in C. succincta group). It may be difficult for beginners to identify males of some species; in fact, they can be confused with small members of the C. succincta group because of their greenish body colour and the simple apex of third tergum. In this case, a combination of diagnostic characters must be taken into consideration, e.g. the presence/absence of the frontal carina, the shape of the black spots on second sternum, and the shape of the genital capsule. Apart from species of the Canaries

Islands, only two species have both sexes with a completely green body: Chrysis nilensis

Linsenmaier, 1959 ( Fig. 3 ) and C. infantula Semenov-Tian-Shanskij, 1967. Kimsey & Bohart

(1991) classified the C. leachii group as a subgroup of the C. succincta group; we follow

Linsenmaier’s (1959, 1999) classification, which was recently supported by phylogenetic analysis (Pauli et al., 2019).

HOSTS. Species of the family Crabronidae , genus Miscophus Jurine, 1807 and Diodontus

Curtis, 1834 (Linsenmaier, 1959; Rosa, 2006; Gert et al., 2010).

Figures

Fig. 3. Chrysis rasnitsyni sp. n., male from Central African Republic: A – habitus, lateral