Chrysura radians (Harris, 1776)

Paukkunen, Juho, Berg, Alexander, Soon, Villu, Odegaard, Frode & Rosa, Paolo, 2015, An illustrated key to the cuckoo wasps (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae) of the Nordic and Baltic countries, with description of a new species, ZooKeys 548, pp. 1-116 : 88

Taxon classification Animalia Hymenoptera Chrysididae

Chrysura radians (Harris, 1776) Figs 200, 204, 207

Chrysis radians Harris, 1776: 69.

Chrysis bicolor Dahlbom, 1829: 10, in part, not Lepeletier, 1806.

Chrysis pustulosa Abeille de Perrin, 1878: 6.

Chrysura radians : Morgan 1984: 19.

Diagnosis.

Length 8-11 mm. The species differs from other similarly coloured species of the genus by its heterogeneous tergal punctation, which consists of large punctures and interspersed small punctures (Figs 200, 207). The metascutellum is slightly elevated (but not as sharply as in Chrysura trimaculata ) and has a large triangular fovea antero-medially. The head and mesosoma are mainly green or blue, whereas the metasoma is dorsally golden red or violet-red (Fig. 200). The punctures on the pronotum, mesoscutum and mesoscutellum are often contrastingly blue compared to the greenish interstices.

Distribution.

Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden. Relatively rare. - Trans-Palearctic: from western Europe and northern Africa to western Asia and Siberia ( Linsenmaier 1959).

Biology.

Habitat: forest margins, clearings and gardens with sun-exposed dead wood. Occasionally also found on brick walls, clay walls or rocky outcrops ( Trautmann 1927). Adults visit flowers of Apiaceae and Euphorbiaceae ( Rosa 2004) and also feed on honeydew of aphids ( Linsenmaier 1997). Flight period: June to August. Host: solitary bees of Osmia Panzer and Hoplitis Klug ( Megachilidae ), which usually nest in cavities in dead wood. In North Europe, probably mainly Hoplitis adunca (Panzer), Hoplitis anthocopoides (Schenck), Osmia caerulescens (Linnaeus) and/or Osmia leaiana (Kirby) ( Frey-Gessner 1887, du Buysson 1891, Trautmann 1927, Stöckhert 1933).