Chrysis corusca Valkeila, 1971

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 : 62

Taxon classification Animalia Hymenoptera Chrysididae

Chrysis corusca Valkeila, 1971 Figs 103, 123, 128, 144, 173

Chrysis corusca Valkeila, 1971: 84.

Diagnosis.

Length 7-9 mm. Both sexes are easily confused with e.g. Chrysis angustula , Chrysis schencki , Chrysis impressa and Chrysis longula , and a combination of several characters should always be used in identification. The vertex and mesosoma are mostly dark blue or blue-violet (rarely greenish), and often have green reflections on the pronotum and mesoscutellum. The punctures of the mesoscutum are of the same colour as the interstices. The metasoma is dorsally golden red or violet-red (Fig. 103) and S2 is greenish/bluish with narrow black spots (Figs 123, 128). The shape of the body is elongate and nearly parallel-sided (Fig. 103). Punctation of T2 is relatively regular and coarse (Fig. 103) and the mandible is thick (Fig. 144). The apical rim of T3 has a characteristic, widely arcuate interval between the central apical teeth.

Distribution.

Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden. Relatively rare. - West Palearctic: central and northern Europe, Iran ( van der Smissen 2010, Rosa et al. 2013).

Biology.

Habitat: forest margins, clearings and gardens with sun-exposed dead wood. Rarely also sandy banks and clay structures, such as old barn walls. Flight period: early June to early August. Host: Symmorphus gracilis ( Brullé) ( Vespidae ) ( Pärn et al. 2014).