Cleptes transoxianus Rosa, 2018

Rosa, P., 2018, New species of chrysididae (Hymenoptera) from Central Asia, Russia and Iran. Part 1, Far Eastern Entomologist 371, pp. 1-27 : 3-5

Cleptes transoxianus Rosa , sp. n.

Figs 1–4

SPECIMENS EXAMINED. Holotype – ♀, Kazakhstan: Vanovka , 80 km E of

Dzhambul [currently Taraz], 30. VI 1992, leg. M. Halada [ ZIN] .

DIAGNOSIS. Cleptes transoxianus sp. n. belongs to the Cl. nitidulus species group, based on the pronotum without posterior pit row and without longitudinal median sulcus. Cl. transoxianus sp. n. at first sight resembles C. morawitzi Radoszkowski, 1877 from Central Asia, for its coloration, with head and mesosoma partly flame red and metasoma dark. However it can be easily separated for propodeum and metasoma, both black with more or less expanded metallic red to purplish reflections (mesosoma fully red and metasoma fully deep black in C. morawitzi).

Other two Asian species, Cl. mareki Rosa, 2003 and Cl. helanshanus Wei, Rosa &

Xu, 2013, both described from China, have black metasoma, yet their head and mesosoma are almost entirely black with bluish (C. mareki) or with golden reflections (C. helanshanus). C. transoxianus sp. n. can be also easily separated from C.

morawitzi for the shortened pronotum (distinctly elongate in C. morawitzi) and the subrectangular shape of clypeal margin.

DESCRIPTION. Female. Holotype. Body length 6.1 mm ( Fig. 1 ). Forewing length 4.0 mm. POL = 2.5 MOD; OOL = 2.4 MOD. MS = 12 MOD. P:F1:F2:F3 =

1.0:1.1:0.9.

Head. Face and vertex with small, even, and sparse punctures (1–4 PD). Clypeal lower margin convex, 1 MOD width, without acute teeth at corners. Frontal sulcus broad and deep, complete from midocellus to clypeal margin ( Fig. 3 ), deeper and broadened below midocellus. Mandibles bidentate. Ocellar triangle isosceles, without post-ocellar sulcus. Postero-lateral pits close to hind ocelli deep, rounded, as large as 0.5 MOD. Pedicel slightly shorter than F1. Malar spaces elongate (2.4 MOD),

subparallel.

Mesosoma. Pronotum unmodified, shortened, without transverse row of pits on posterior margin and without longitudinal median groove; with small punctures similar to those on vertex, yet even sparser. Mesoscutum and mesoscutellum scarcely punctate, with small and scattered punctures (more than 6 PD), with medial, broad,

impunctate, and shining area; notauli and parapsidal lines complete.

Mesopleuron with small punctures; on posterior half with a short, deep scrobal sulcus ( Fig. 2 ); on anterior half with punctures, somewhere confluent in transverse striae; medially with single and sparse punctures. Metanotum with two large foveae along posterior margin; axillary trough longitudinally irregularly striate. Metapleuron transversely striate. Dorsal surface of propodeum short, irregularly reticulate.

Propodeal angles short, stout, and divergent ( Fig. 1 ).

Metasoma. Metasomal terga densely punctate, with small punctures, postero-

medially impunctate; all terga with impunctate stripe along posterior margin (Figs

1, 4); laterally with double punctation; punctures on fourth tergum sparser.

Coloration. Head and thorax metallic red to purplish; propodeum black, with medial, ill-defined metallic red spot. Metasoma medially black, laterally metallic red to purple. Antennae testaceous to yellowish, scape with opalescent reflections.

Tegulae metallic violet. Fore femora, except for joints, metallic violet, mid- and hind femora brown; tibiae testaceous, with opalescent reflections, tarsi testaceous.

Metasoma ventrally with purplish reflections.

Vestiture. Head on vertex and clypeus with short (1.0–1.5 MOD), sparse, whitish setae. Metasoma laterally and posteriorly, on third and fourth tergum, with long (5

MOD) sparse, erected, whitish setae.

Male. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION. Kazakhstan.

ETYMOLOGY. The specific epithet is named after Transoxiana, the ancient

Latin name used for the portion of Central Asia corresponding approximately with modern-day southwest Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Figures

Figs 1–4. Cleptes transoxianus Rosa, sp. n., holotype ♀: 1 – habitus, dorsal view; 2 – habitus, lateral view; 3 – head, frontal view; 4 – metasoma, dorso-lateral view. Scale bar = 1.0 mm.