Hedychrum caerulescens Lepeletier, 1806

Rosa, Paolo & Xu, Zai-fu, 2015, Annotated type catalogue of the Chrysididae (Insecta, Hymenoptera) deposited in the collection of Maximilian Spinola (1780 - 1857), Turin, ZooKeys 471, pp. 1-96 : 39-40

Taxon classification Animalia Hymenoptera Chrysididae

Hedychrum caerulescens Lepeletier, 1806

Hedychrum caerulescens : Lepeletier 1806: 122.

Type locality.

" Mâle et femelle. Donné par M. Walkenaer qui l’a trouvée aux environs de Paris".

Material.

Lectotype (here designated) ♂. Hedychrum caeruleus ( Chrysis ) Deg. [De Geer] - ( Omalus ) Dhlbm. Hedychrum caerulescens Lepel. 122 coll. St. Fargeau, Parisiae.

Catalogue Casolari & Casolari Moreno. Hedychrum caeruleus , 36, 185, 53, 1 (box 50).

Remarks.

Lepeletier (1806) described Hedychrum caerulescens based on two specimens, one male and one female. One of these two syntypes was acquired by Spinola and belongs to the species Pseudomalus violaceus (Scopoli, 1763); the second syntype is housed at MNHN. Du Buysson (1898: 563) listed one specimen in Lepeletier’s collection Hedychrum coerulescens = Ellampus caeruleus (De Geer), but it is not listed as a type. We examined the second syntype (currently in the general collection MNHN box 8). It belongs to the same species, Pseudomalus violaceus (Scopoli), even though it is placed under the name of Omalus aeneus (Fabricius).

We designate as lectotype of Hedychrum caerulescens Lepeletier the syntype male. The reason is to fix the synonym with Pseudomalus violaceus (Scopoli). The specimen is damaged, lacking its fore wings and left hind wing, and it is partially covered by mould.

Current status.

Pseudomalus violaceus (Scopoli, 1763) (synonymised by Dalla Torre 1892: 19; transferred by Kimsey and Bohart 1991: 270).