Omalus puncticollis ( Mocsary , 1887)

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 : 13

Taxon classification Animalia Hymenoptera Chrysididae

Omalus puncticollis ( Mocsary, 1887) Figs 24, 25

Ellampus puncticollis Mocsáry, 1887: 291.

Omalus puncticollis : Morgan 1984: 16.

Diagnosis.

Length 3-6 mm. The species is easily confused with Omalus aeneus , but the mesoscutum always has relatively large scattered punctures and long setae (Fig. 24). The pronotum has also larger punctures medially (Fig. 24) and the apical notch of T3 is deeper (Fig. 25). The body colouration is similar to Omalus aeneus . Habitus of large specimens can sometimes resemble small specimens of Pseudomalus violaceus , but the ventral margin of the mesopleuron is not as strongly projecting in Omalus puncticollis (as in Fig. 19) and the large punctures of the mesoscutum are not clumped postero-medially.

Distribution.

Norway, Sweden. Rare. - West Palearctic (?): Europe, Turkey and northern Africa ( Linsenmaier 1959, 1968, 1999). The general distribution is poorly known, because many authors have considered Omalus puncticollis to be conspecific with Omalus aeneus .

Biology.

Habitat: forest margins and clearings, semi-open sandy areas. Adults are usually found sitting on or flying near leaves of trees and bushes, occasionally also on flowers of Apiaceae ( Kunz 1994). Flight period: June to August. Host: Passaloecus gracilis (Curtis), Passaloecus eremita Kohl, Passaloecus corniger Shuckard and Passaloecus turionum Dahlbom ( Crabronidae ) ( Spooner 1954, Gauss 1967, Mocsáry 1912).

Remarks.

Mitochondrial DNA studies support the recognition of Omalus puncticollis as a distinct species in relation to Omalus aeneus ( Paukkunen et al. 2014).