Zootaxa 4754 (1): 101–121 ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) https://www.mapress.com/j/zt/ Article ZOOTAXA Copyright © 2020 Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4754.1.10 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:A7BB9C87-F444-470F-8D74-7A588AD5B70E

Biodiversity of the aculeate wasps (: Aculeata) of the Arabian Peninsula: , Chrysididae

PAOLO ROSA1, NEVEEN S. GADALLAH2 & DENIS J. BROTHERS3 1Via Belvedere 8/d, I-20881 Bernareggio (MB), Italy. E-mail: [email protected] 2Entomology Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt. E-mail: [email protected] 3School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville, 3209 South Africa. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

An updated checklist of the Arabian species of Chrysididae is provided here. Three new synonymies (valid name first) are proposed: Chrysis mirifica Balthasar, 1953 = Chrysis dawahi Strumia, 2012 syn. nov.; Chrysis viridissima Klug, 1845 = Chrysis decolorata Strumia & Dawah, 2019 syn. nov.; Trichrysis longispina (Mocsáry, 1912) = Trichrysis flavicornis Strumia & Dawah, 2019 syn. nov.. Consequently, the list includes 124 identified species in 22 genera and three tribes, all in the subfamily : Elampini (11 genera, 48 species), (9 genera, 73 species), and Parnopini (2 genera, 3 species). In addition, there is a single record of an unidentified species of the subfamily Cleptinae. Distributions, both on the Peninsula and extra-limital, are provided for each species and subspecies; 41 species (33%) are endemic to the Arabian Peninsula, as are five subspecies.

Key words: Chrysidini, Elampini, Parnopini, distribution, synonymy

Chrysididae Latreille, 1802

The Chrysididae (cuckoo, ruby-tailed, or gold wasps) are a relatively large, widely distributed family, currently with 2850 described species in 112 genera (of which 17 genera are extinct) (Rosa et al. 2017b; Rosa 2018a, b), in four subfamilies (Amiseginae, Chrysidinae, Cleptinae, and Loboscelidiinae) (Kimsey & Bohart 1991). They can be dis- tinguished from other aculeate wasps by the reduced number of visible metasomal segments (most subfamilies have only three, Cleptinae have five in males and four in females, males of Parnopini have four, and Allocoeliini have only two visible terga but three sterna); the internalized metasomal segments modified to form a telescopic genital apparatus in males and an ovipositor tube in females; the ventral surface of the metasoma usually flat to concave, enabling the body to roll up in a ball when threatened; the presence of an equal number (13) of antennal articles in both sexes; the reduced wing venation, with the anterior wings with at most six closed or partially closed cells, and the posterior wings completely devoid of closed cells; and the body integument strongly chitinized and strengthened to protect them against their hosts (Kimsey & Bohart 1991). They are predominantly brilliantly metallic green, violet, gold and/or red and hence their name “gold wasps” or “jewel wasps”. Brownish to dull black species are rare in the Palaearctic fauna (Finnamore & Brothers 1993; Linsenmaier 1994), whereas they are frequent in the subfamilies Amiseginae and Loboscelidiinae and in the tribe Allocoeliini, which are not distributed in the Arabian Peninsula (Kimsey & Bohart 1991). Sexual dimorphism is well-marked in some genera (e.g. Parnopes Latreille, Cleptes Latreille, Spinola, Latreille, Dahlbom, Philoctetes Abeille de Perrin), and hardly recognizable in other genera (e.g. in most species of Abeille de Perrin); in other Chrysidinae such dimorphism is usually less evident, and sometimes females can be recognized only when the ovipositor is fully exserted. When only the tip of the ovipositor is visible, however, it can easily be confused with the partly exserted male genitalia. A sexually dimorphic character is typically the shape of the last visible tergite and sternite: in males they are usually straight or slightly arched, whereas in females they are often arched to subovoid; experience is needed to recognize these relatively small differences. Other sexually dimorphic characters are variable from one species group to another

Accepted by Kevin A. Williams: 7 Oct. 2019; published: 20 Mar. 2020 101