Hedychridium erythrosoma Rosa, Proshchalykin & Halada, 2021

Rosa, Paolo, Proshchalykin, Maxim Yu. & Halada, Marek, 2021, Additions to the cuckoo wasps (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae) of Mongolia, with description of eleven new species, ZooKeys 1068, pp. 149-187 : 149

Hedychridium erythrosoma Rosa, Proshchalykin & Halada sp. nov.

Figures 6A, B , 7A-D, F, H , 8A, B, D, F and H

Hedychridium cupreum (Dahlbom, 1845): Rosa et al. 2020: 81 (cat., Mongolia: Bayankhongor, Dornogovi, Govi-Altai, Tuv, Umnugovi, Uvurkhangai, Zavkhan).

Material examined.

Holotype: ♀, Mongolia: Zavkhan, 40 km SW of Uliastay , dunes, 18.VII.2005, leg. JH (ZIN) . Paratypes: Zavkhan, 1 ♀, 1 ♂, same data and locality of the holotype ( PRC); Tuv , 1 ♂, 50 km E of Ulaanbaatar, Tuul River , 22.VI.2003, leg. JH (MHC) ; 1 ♀, Khangaun Mts. , 5 km N of Khunt, 20.VII.2005, leg. JH (MHC) ; 1 ♀, 2 ♂♂, Khangaun Mts. , 30 km S of Khunt, 20.VII.2005, leg. PT (PTC) ; 1♀, Khangaun Mts. , 5 km N of Khunt, 21.VII.2005, leg. PT (PTC) ; 2 ♀♀, 50 km E of Ulaanbaatar, Tuul River , 22.VI.2003, leg. JH (MHC); Govi-Altai , 4 ♀♀, 70 km E of Altay City, Guulin , 14.VII.2005, leg. JH (MHC); Bayankhongor , 2 ♀♀, 16 km SW of Bayankhongor , 46°13'N; 100°30'E, 2165 m alt., 10.VII.2004, leg. JH (MHC); Uvurkhangai , 1♂, 12 km E of Aravaykheer , 46°22'N; 102°49'E, 1800 m alt., 3.VII.2004, leg. JH (MHC); Zavkhan , 1 ♀, 40 km SW of Uliastay , dunes, 18.VII.2005, leg. PT (PTC) .

Diagnosis.

Hedychridium erythrosoma sp. nov. is recognised by red body colour, with head and thorax coppery red, darker to violet on vertex, pronotum and mesoscutum; greenish on face and at sides of metasomal segments; metasomal sutures black; metasoma red flame dorsally, black ventrally; metanotum distinctly elongate, trapezoidal; metatibial [= hind tibial] spot short, impressed; male with distinct genital capsule.

Description.

Female. Body length 4.0-6.0 mm (holotype 5.7 mm). Head. Face with sharp ridges converging to mid-scapal basin (Fig. 7B ); brow with large subcontiguous punctures, aligned towards anterior ocellus, with wide, polished interspaces; longitudinal mid-line deep, extending from anterior ocellus to clypeus; area in front of anterior ocellus and lateral to posterior ocelli depressed; ocellar triangle isosceles, with deep post-ocellar line; malar spaces short and impunctate; clypeus apically raised and bordered by thin, linear edge; mandibles bidentate and apically lighter from brownish to yellowish; setae on vertex thick, whitish and long (up to 2.0 × MOD). Relative length of P:F1:F2:F3 = 1.0:1.5:0.9:0.9; OOL = 2.2 × MOD; POL = 1.7 × MOD; MS = 0.4 × MOD. Mesosoma. Pronotum with large umbilicate punctures (Fig. 7A and B ) and dense minute punctures on interspaces; mesonotum with sparse, shallow punctures, smaller than those on pronotum and not umbilicate, with sparse minute punctures on wide, polished interspaces; mesopleuron with dense punctures and polished mesepimeron; posterior propodeal projections small and acute, divergent; metatibia with impressed black spot covering about half of its length; metatarsomere 2 [= hind tarsal segment 2] shorter than metatarsomere 3; mesosoma and femora and tibiae with long whitish setae. Metasoma. T1-T3 with minute, even, shallow punctures and wide polished interspaces (2-3 x PD); posterior margin of T1-T2 with broad impunctate band (up to 1.0 × MOD); apical margin of T3 bordered by thin brownish rim; S2 with sparse, relatively large and deep punctures bearing long setae (up to 3.0 × MOD), without metallic reflections; metasoma laterally and posteriorly covered by long, thick and whitish setae. Colouration. Head and thorax red to coppery-red, darker to violet on vertex, pronotum and mesoscutum; greenish on face and at sides of metasomal segments; mesosomal sutures black; metasoma red flame dorsally, black ventrally; scape violet, pedicel shining black, flagellomeres black; tegulae non-metallic brown; femora and tibiae dark violet, tibial joints brownish; tarsi 1-2 yellowish, tarsi 3-5 brown; wing membrane slight infuscate. Body colouration more coppery-greenish in prepared (and photographed) specimens.

Male. Body length 5.0-5.5 mm. Similar to female in habitus and sculpture; main differences are: scapal basin with less sharp ridges (Fig. 8H ) and with distinct lateral punctures; posterior propodeal projections smaller; genital capsule as in Fig. 8F .

Etymology.

The specific epithet Hedychridium erythrosoma derives from the Greek adjective eruthros (red) and the Greek noun sōma (body) and refers to the red body colouration of this species.

Comparative diagnosis.

We describe Hedychridium erythrosoma sp. nov. in the H. cupreum species group. Species in this group are separated from those of the H. ardens group by the ridged scapal basin (punctate in H. ardens group), with ridges convergent to mid-face (transverse and parallel in H. femoratum group). In the previous checklist of the Mongolian cuckoo wasps, members of this taxon were identified as H. cupreum (Dahlbom, 1845), with a remark on their unusual colouration. Besides the red body colouration, Hedychridium erythrosoma sp. nov. is separated from H. cupreum by shape of metanotum (see Fig. 7D and H. cupreum Fig. 7E ), elongated medially in both sexes and metatibia black spot, shorter and deeply impressed (Fig. 7F ) compared with the elongated and shallow pit of H. cupreum (Fig. 7G ). Some paratypes lost their bright red colouration, which is partially turned into green. Males can be recognised by differently-shaped metanotum and shape of genital capsule (Fig. 8F ), with different digitus and apex of gonocoxae.

Distribution.

Mongolia (Bayankhongor, Dornogovi, Govi-Altai, Tuv, Umnugovi, Uvurkhangai, Zavkhan).

Figures

Figure 6. Hedychridium erythrosoma sp. nov., female, holotype (A), male, paratype (B), H. cupreum (Dahlbom), female (from Estonia) (C), H. asianum Linsenmaier, female (from Mongolia) (D). Scale bars: 1 mm.

Figure 7. Hedychridium erythrosoma sp. nov., female, holotype (A-D, F, H) and H. cupreum (Dahlbom), female (from Estonia) (E, G) A habitus, dorsal view B head, frontal view C habitus, lateral view D head and mesosoma, dorsal view F metaleg, right tibia and tarsi H metasoma, ventral view E head and mesosoma, dorsal view G metaleg, right tibia and tarsi. Scale bars: 1 mm.

Figure 8. Hedychridium erythrosoma sp. nov., male, paratype (A, B, D, F, H) and H. cupreum (Dahlbom), male (from Russia) (C, E, G, I) A habitus, dorsal view B habitus, lateral view D metaleg, right tibia and tarsi F genital capsule H head, frontal view C habitus, dorsal view E metaleg, right tibia and tarsi G genital capsule I head, frontal view. Scale bars: 1 mm.