Chrysis speculata du Buysson, 1896

Rosa, Paolo, 2023, New records for the Indian cuckoo wasp fauna (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae) with description of two new species and remarks on types of Smith and Cameron, Journal of Natural History 57 (29 - 32), pp. 1396-1433 : 1408

Chrysis speculata du Buysson, 1896

Chrysis speculata du Buysson, 1896: 473 . Holotype ♀; India: Maharashtra: Bombay: Poona [= Pune] (MNHN) (succincta group).

Material examined

1♀: Simla 5.[18]97/Col . C .G. Nurse Collection 1920-72/ Chrysis speculata Buyss. var. <handwritten by du Buysson> [ NHMUK].

Distribution

India (Himachal Pradesh (!), Maharashtra).

Remarks

The specimen from Simla [= Shimla] has a sparser punctation of the body, which produces a shining reflection. The same punctation was observed in a specimen from Pakistan ( Rosa et al. 2021b). Du Buysson identified the Indian specimen from Simla to be a distinct variation of Chrysis speculata , and this case deserves future analyses based on more specimens and both sexes. In Europe a similar case was documented between the common Chrysis germari Wesmael, 1839 and the Alpine endemic species Chrysis lucida Linsenmaier, 1951 , in the succincta group. The latter is found only at high altitudes and shows a shallower and sparser punctation, generating a shiny metallic reflection on the body, hence the species name.