Chrysis comottii Gribodo, 1884

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 : 35

Chrysis comottii Gribodo, 1884

( Figs 28 A–28F)

Chrysis insularis Smith, 1859: 26 , nec Guérin-Méneville, 1842. Holotype ♀; Indonesia: Celebes [= Sulawesi] (HECO). Chrysis comottii Gribodo, 1884: 367 : replacement name for Chrysis insularis Smith, 1859 , nec Guérin-Méneville, 1842, 367–

368 (descr., India: West Bengal: Rajahrampoor; Tamil Nadu: Neelgherries [= Nilgiris], Pondichery [= Puducherry]); Dalla

Torre 1892: 52 (cat., India); Bingham 1903: 440 (key), 491 (descr., Pondicherry). Chrysis (Hexachrysis) comottii: Mocsáry 1889: 560 (descr., Pondichery [= Puducherry]); Bischoff 1913: 64 (cat., India).

Distribution. India (Tamil Nadu; Puducherry; West Bengal); Indonesia, Sumatra, Java ( Kimsey & Bohart 1991).

Remarks. We could not examine Smith’s type specimen deposited at Oxford. However, we examined the series of Chrysis comottii from Celebes deposited in Gribodo’s collection (MSNG). Gribodo examined Smith’s type (handwritten label pinned with Gribodo specimen) and for this reason we consider reliable his identifications. Gribodo’s specimens match the original description, in particular for colouration and punctation on mesosoma, whereas in the major European collections of Mocsáry (HNHM), Linsenmaier (MNLU), and Zimmermann (NHMW), another species from Celebes and Java was identified as Chrysis comottii . This species is characterized by mesosoma with sparse punctation and green olive colouration. For this reason, all specimens identified as Chrysis comottii from India should be double checked.

Figures

FIGURE 28. Chrysis comottii Gribodo, 1884, female from Celebes. A. Mesosoma, dorsal view. B. Head, frontal view. C. Mesosoma, lateral view. D. Metasoma, dorsal view. E. Metasoma, dorso-lateral view. F. Metasoma, ventral view. Scale bars 1.0 mm.