Miscophus chrysis Kohl, 1894

Gadallah, Neveen S., Abu El-Ghiet, Usama M. & Edmardash, Yusuf A., 2021, New data on the crabronid fauna of Saudi Arabia (Hymenoptera: Apoidea (Spheciformes): Crabronidae) from Jazan Province, with the description of three new species and the hitherto unknown male of Miscophus chrysis Kohl, 1894, Journal of Natural History 55 (27 - 28), pp. 1697-1748 : 1707-1710

Miscophus chrysis Kohl, 1894

( Figures 5 (a-g), 6(a-f)) Miscophus chrysis Kohl, 1894: 293 , ♀.

Diagnosis

Body metallic bluish green in female ( Figure 5 (b,c)) green in male ( Figure 6 (a–d)); frons densely alveolate, with fine rugosity in between ( Figures 5 (d) and 6(d)), extending to middle ocellus ( Figures 5 (d) and 6(d)); mesepisternum finely rugose ( Figure 5 (e)).

Description of hitherto undescribed male ( Figures 5 (a), 6(a–f)): Body length: 4.2 mm.; fore wing length: 3.8 mm.

Colour ( Figure 6 (a–d)). Body (including legs) metallic green, without bluish tint. Scape, pedicel and F1 metallic green above and dark brown beneath; wings subhyaline.

Head ( Figure 6 (a,b,d)). Vertex finely alutaceous. Eyes distinctly convergent towards vertex; lateral ocellus away from eyes by a distance slightly longer than ocellar diameter. Face densely alveolate, with fine rugosity in between; lower face conspicuously depressed; clypeus trilobate, much wider than long, depressed especially preapically, with thin sharp apical margin. Malar space and gena nearly absent. Occipital carina thin and sharp. Mandible pointed apically, edentate. Flagellomeres slender, distinctly longer than wide; F1 as long as or slightly longer than F2, last two flagellomeres short, deeply excavated above; terminal flagellomere pointed apically, short.

Thorax ( Figure 6 (a–c)). Pronotum superficially rugose, with lateral fine transverse carina, carinae not meeting medially. Mesoscutum finely alutaceous, thinly edged laterally; scutellum finely sculptured, more or less quadrate in outline; postscutellum finely dotted. Propodeum relatively long, its dorsum with middle longitudinal carina, obliquely striated at base, and closely transversely striated on remaining dorsum; posterior surface of propodeum distinctly shorter than dorsum, about one third of dorsum, making with it an angle slightly less than 90º, coarsely transversely striated. Lateral surface of pronotum with widely spaced oblique striae; mesopleuron areolated above and finely sculptured below, strongly bulged. Metapleuron with widely spaced transverse striations, wrinkled between striae. Legs relatively long and slender, front coxa with distinct rounded protrusion apico-laterally. Tarsi and mid and hind tibiae with scattered spines; middle coxa with curved sulcus ventrally. Fore wing ( Figure 5 (a)): marginal cell short, with angled apex, not reaching wing apex.

Gaster ( Figure 6 (a)). Smooth, very finely alutaceous throughout, with few short setae apically. Male genitalia very small, gonostyli with dense, long, peculiarly sinuated setae along outer margin of basal half ( Figure 6 (e,f)).

Diagnosis of female ( Figure 5 (b–g))

Body length: 5.5–6.2 mm.; fore wing length: 4.6 mm

Resembles male, except for the following: body bright metallic bluish green ( Figure 5 (b–g)); scape from above as the body, rest of antenna and mandible dark brown; no excavations on flagellomeres; tegula metallic bluish green; fore wing hyaline, with dark brown veins; eyes markedly convergent towards vertex ( Figure 5 (d)), more so than in male, distance between lateral ocellus and eye less than ocellus diameter.

Figures

Figure 5. Miscophus chrysis Kohl: (a) Fore and hind wings of male; (b) Lateral habitus of female; (c) Dorsal habitus of female; (d) Frontal view of head of female; (e) Lateral view of head (part) and thorax; (f) Scutellum and propodeum of female; (g) Dorsal view of gaster (part).

Figure 6. Miscophus chrysis Kohl (male): (a) Dorsal habitus; (b)Lateral voew of head and thorax; (c) Propodeum; (d) Frontal view of head; (e) Male genitalia (ventral view); (f) Male genitalia (dorsal view).