Chrysis

Rosa, Paolo, Wei, Na-Sen & Xu, Zai-Fu, 2016, The inaequalis species-group (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae, Chrysis) in China, with description of a new species, Zootaxa 4193 (2), pp. 373-380 : 374

Chrysis of inaequalis species-group

Chrysis (Pentachrysis) inaequalis species-group: Linsenmaier 1959: 165 (diagnosis). Chrysis inaequalis species-group: Kimsey & Bohart 1991: 320 (key), 349 (diagnosis), 329 (Fig. 107p), 331 (Fig. 108b), 335 (Fig. 109g), 336 (Fig. 110g).

Diagnosis. The Chrysis of inaequalis species-group is diagnosed by the following combination of characters: F1 slender, scapal basin deep, TFC strong and sharply projecting, mesopleuron bidentate or tridentate, T2 and T3 with sharp median carina, apex of T3 with four or six sharp teeth, and punctures on body large and deep.

Description. F1 l/w=3.0–4.0. Scapal basin deep, usually transversely ridged. TFC sharply projecting. MS 1.2– 2.0 MOD. Mesopleuron bidentate or tridentate, and somewhat bulging. Propodeal angle large, sharp and curved behind. T2 and T3 with sharp median carina. T3 with four or six sharp teeth and deep pit row. T3 transversely bulging before pit row. Black spots on S2 indistinct, fused or nearly so.

Biology. Parasitoids of Eumeninae ( Hymenoptera , Vespidae ): Odynerus sp. ( Berland & Bernard 1938) and Eumenes coarctatus ( Linnaeus, 1758) ( Kunz 1994) .

Species included. Chrysis inaequalis Dahlbom, 1845 , C. mysticalis Linsenmaier, 1959 , C. placida Mocsáry, 1879 , and C. extraordinaria Rosa, Wei & Xu , sp. nov..

Distribution. Palaearctic and Oriental Regions.

Remarks. Linsenmaier (1959) included inaequalis species-group into the subgenus Chrysis (Pentachrysis) due to the following combination of characters: elongated F1, sharp TFC, dentate mesopleuron, transverse bulge before pit row and body punctuation. Kimsey & Bohart (1991) placed this species-group in the genus Chrysis and not Pentachrysis (raised to genus rank) due to the four teeth on the apex of T3 and differences in male terminalia. Nevertheless, all males from the genus Pentachrysis ( P. admiranda ( Mocsáry, 1889) , P. amoena ( Eversmann, 1857) , P. arrogans ( Mocsáry, 1889) , P. goliath (Abeille de Perrin, 1878) , P. seminigra ( Walker, 1871) , P. zharptitza (Semenov, 1912)) have four sharp teeth and a very small median denticle, and similar genitalia to species from the C. inaequalis group ( Linsenmaier 1959: Figs. 405–408). The small differences in the apical margin of T3 observed by Kimsey & Bohart (1991) do not clarify whether the C. inaequalis species-group could be more related to the genus Pentachrysis rather than to Chrysis s. str. and only molecular analysis will clarify the real systematic position of this species-group.