Chrysis baldocki Rosa, 2021

Rosa, Paolo, Aswathi, Pokkattu Gopi & Bijoy, Chenthamarakshan, 2021, An annotated and illustrated checklist of the Indian cuckoo wasps (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae), Zootaxa 4929 (1), pp. 1-100 : 27-28

Chrysis baldocki Rosa , sp. nov.

( Figs 20 A–20F, 21A–21F)

Material examined. Holotype: ♀; India: Tamil Nadu: Coimbatore, 12.x.1955, leg. Nathan, GBIF_ Chr 00043090, spec.? ♂ ♀ Abd [Abdomen] Pkt [Punctation] fein [fine] Coll. Linsenmaier, ex synoptic collection ( MNLU). Para- types: 1 ♂: Coimbatore , 1.vii.1954, leg. Nathan, GBIF_ Chr 00043089, spec.? ♂ ♀ Abd [Abdomen] Pkt [Puncta- tion] fein [fine] Coll. Linsenmaier, ex synoptic collection ( MNLU); 1 ♂, Tamil Nadu: 60 km SW Madurai, 200m, 09°21,6’N, 77°26,6’E, 6.v.2005, leg. M. Halada ( MHC).

Diagnosis. Species with body metallic light blue with green reflections. Tergum I with large punctures widely separated, with interspaces densely punctate by small punctures ( Fig. 20A ); transverse frontal carina well developed and raised, appearing as double ( Fig. 20C ). Pit row on metasomal tergum III with small and longitudinally elongate pits in ♀ ( Fig. 20D ). Metasomal sternum II with large black spots ( Fig. 20F ).

Description. Female. Body length 8.5 mm. Forewing length 5.5 mm. OOL 2.3 × MOD; POL 1.7 × MOD; MS 1.2 × MOD; relative length of P:F1:F2:F3 = 1.0:1.5:1.0:0.9.

Head. Vertex and frons with small (about 0.3 × MOD) and contiguous punctures, without polished interspaces; punctures smaller on ocelli triangle; without polished areas laterally to posterior ocelli; with larger punctures between ocelli triangle and occipital area; transverse frontal carina strong and somewhat arcuate ( Fig. 20C ), with lateral endings close to eye margin; scapal basin transversally micropunctate, with punctures somehow aligned; frons declivity and scapal basin medially impunctate; subantennal space less than 1.0 × MOD; apical margin of clypeus almost straight; genal carina fully developed to mandibular insertion.

Mesosoma. Medial pronotal line [= pronotal groove] shallow, as long as ¾ length of pronotum; pronotum with larger punctures (0.5 × MOD), with scattered tiny dots on interspaces; mesoscutum with slightly larger punctures, increasing mesad; notauli as line of large and round foveae, black coloured, and larger at base; lateral areas of mesoscutum with scattered punctures, with double punctation and tiny dots on interspaces; parapsidal signum [= parapsidal line] hardly visible; mesoscutellum with large punctures, contiguous at base; metanotum with large, foveate punctures without interspaces; metapectal-propodeal disc with metapostnotal-propodeal suture strong and raised; posterior propodeal projections [= propodeal teeth] subparallel, posteriorly concave; mesopleuron with posterior oblique sulcus of the mesopleuron [= scrobal sulcus], formed by large, irregular foveate punctures; with tiny punctures and corrugation on interspaces; with oblique wrinkles on anterior margin, anteriorly to subalar impression. Tarsomere I of mesoleg as long as II–IV together. Forewing with second radial cell (the marginal cell located apical to the pterostigma) slightly open because radial sector vein (Second radial cross & Radial sector) does not reach wing margin.

Metasoma. Tergum I with double punctation, larger punctures broadly separated with dense, small punctures on interspaces; laterally with double punctation, but interspaces among large punctures are narrow; apical margin of the tergum polished and impunctate; tergum II dorsally with even punctation, with medium-sized punctures, becoming double at sides; along median longitudinal line polished, with tiny dots; tergum III densely punctate, with double punctures of small and medium size; pits of pit row small and longitudinally elongate ( Figs 20D, 20E ); tergum III transversally gibbous before pit row apical margin with four short, triangular median teeth and lateral angle ( Figs 20D, 20E ). Metasomal terga without distinct median longitudinal carina. Black spots on sternum II large, medially fused and connected to lateroterga ( Fig. 20F ).

Colouration. Body entirely metallic light blue with green reflections all over body, on face, on bottom of mesosomal punctures, on lateral sides, on legs and sterna. Scape, pedicel and flagellomere I light blue, other flagellomeres black. Wings fuscous, with brownish veins.

Vestiture. Body with short and whitish setae.

Male. Similar to female. The following dimorphic features are observed: apical margin of tergum III straight and pits of pit row larger and partly confluent, anyway smaller than other species of the group; post pit row shorter; median longitudinal carina on terga II and III more visible. Body colour darker blue.

Distribution. India (Oriental part: Tamil Nadu).

Etymology. The specific epithet baldocki (masculine noun in genitive) is dedicated to the late David W. Baldock (Surrey, UK), who friendly supported the first author works on Chrysididae , providing materials and expertise.

Remarks. Chrysis baldocki sp. nov. belongs to the Ch. smaragdula species group. Twenty species of the group are known for India and the Oriental region: Chrysis apricata Bohart in Kimsey & Bohart, 1991; Ch. arachne Mocsáry 1913 ; Ch. arrestans Nurse, 1903b ; Ch. baliana Mocsáry, 1913 ; Ch. bhoutanensis ( du Buysson, 1908) ; Ch. buddhae Mocsáry, 1913 ; Ch. ceylonica Mocsáry, 1913 ; Ch. comotti Gribodo 1884 ; Ch. decemdentata Linsenmaier, 1959 ; Ch. durbar Bingham, 1903 ; Ch. igniceps Mocsáry, 1893 ; Ch. laglaizei du Buysson, 1898b ; Ch. lamellata Mocsáry, 1914 ; Ch. musa Semenov-Tian-Shanskij in Semenov-Tian-Shanskij & Nikol’skaya, 1954; Ch. parallela Brullé, 1846 ; Ch. principalis Smith, 1874 ; Ch. rani Mocsáry, 1913 ; Ch. schioedtei Dahlbom, 1854 ; Ch. takasago Tsuneki, 1963 ; Ch. vicaria Mocsáry, 1913 ( Kimsey & Bohart 1991). Whereas other two species included in the smaragdula group by Kimsey & Bohart (1991), are considered here members of the oculata group: Chrysis thakur Mocsáry, 1913 , and Ch. obscura Smith, 1860 . However, more species were described from the Oriental Region, and synonymised by Kimsey & Bohart (1991); a double check of these taxa is needed to confirm these synonymies. Indian and Oriental species of the smaragdula group can be separated from Chrysis baldocki sp. nov. by the following characters: narrow black spots on the sternum II ( Ch. baliana , Ch. buddhae , Ch. ceylonica , Ch. comotti , Ch. durga , Ch. schioedtei ); larger black spots on the sternum II ( Ch. arachne ); deep and large pits of the pit row on the tergum III, almost confluent ( Ch. bhoutanensis , Ch. rani , Ch. principalis , Ch. takasago , Ch. vicaria ); pits of the pit row very small, almost indistinct ( Ch. musa Semenov-Tian-Shanskij in Semenov-Tian-Shanskij & Nikol’skaya, 1954); metascutellum posteriorly lamellate and projecting over metapectal-propodeal disc ( Ch. decemdentata and Ch. lamellata ); different colouration Ch. comottii sensu auct. (mesonotum olive coloured) and Ch. igniceps (red head)); metasomal punctation ( Ch. parallela with large and deep punctures on tergum I, scattered and shallow punctures dorsally on terga II and III). Among the Oriental species, only Chrysis laglaizei du Buysson , from Indonesia, shares a similar shape of black spots of sternum II and small pits of the pit row. Nevertheless, pits are rounded and not longitudinally elongate, the post pit row area is shorter and the metasomal punctation is different, unmodified on the tergum I, with even punctation, not densely micropunctate between larger punctures; lastly, the transverse frontal carina, seen in dorsal view is distinctly raised and bilobed.

Figures

FIGURE 20. Chrysis baldocki Rosa, sp. nov., holotype, female. A. Habitus, dorsal view. B. Habitus, lateral view. C. Head, dorsal view. D. Metasoma, dorso-lateral view. E. Metasoma, dorsal view. F. Metasoma, ventral view. Scale bars 1.0 mm.