Anastatus gansuensis Chen & Zang, 2019

Li, Zixuan, Xu, Shirui, Wang, Zongying, Chen, Pengfei, Wu, Jianqin & Peng, Lingfei, 2025, Species of Eupelmidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) from the Fujian Tianbaoyan National Nature Reserve, China, Zootaxa 5665 (3), pp. 349-373 : 352-353

1.1 Anastatus gansuensis Chen & Zang, 2019

Figs 1C,D , 2

Anastatus gansuensi s Chen & Zang in Chen et al., 2019: 117–126, figs 2, 3A–E, 4.

Anastatus gansuensis ; Peng et al., 2020: 376‒379 , fig. 12.

Diagnosis. See Peng et al. (2020).

Material examined. CHINA: 1♀, Dashuikeng, Fujian Tianbaoyan National Natural Reserve, Sanming City , Fujian Province 12 July 2021, Malaise trap, DNA 887 ( FAFU) ; 1♀, Goudunping, Fujian Tianbaoyan National Natural Reserve, Sanming City , Fujian Province, 20 September 2020, 1000m, Malaise trap, DNA 821 ( FAFU) ; 1♀, Goudunping, Fujian Tianbaoyan National Natural Reserve, Sanming City , Fujian Province, 29 September 2020, 1000m, Malaise trap, DNA 846 ( FAFU) ; 1♀, Qingshuisuo, Fujian Tianbaoyan National Natural Reserve, Sanming City , Fujian Province, 21 September 2020, 700m, Malaise trap, DNA 893 ( FAFU) .

Distribution. China (* Fujian, Gansu).

Remarks. Chen et al. (2019) and Peng et al. (2020) described females of this species as having a single hyaline cross band on the fore wing, occasionally with a few isolated dark setae within the band medially (cf. Chen et al. 2019: fig. 3C; Peng et al. 2020: fig. 12H,I). However, in the four females of A. gansuensis collected from the Tianbaoyan National Natural Reserve, the dark setae within the band are denser and more distinct ( Fig. 2B,D ). This is important to note because the presence of dark setae creates two hyaline spots, which is a key character for the identification of Anastatus species in China based on females: separate hyaline spots were so far characteristic only for Anastatus echidna (Motschulsky) . Additionally, the colour of the mesopleuron ( Fig. 2A ) differs from the previous description, with one specimen darker than the others ( Figs 1C , 2C ).

Despite these differences, the COI sequence and other morphological characters (e.g. the posterior concave part of the mesoscutum being setose medially, with the width of the setose region about equal to the width of the bare region on either side ( Fig. 1D ), and the flagellum being thin and long ( Figs 1C , 2A,C )) support these four females as A. gansuensis . The observed variation in this species requires more study because it may have a wider distribution than what we currently know, because the distance between Fujian and Gansu Provinces is more than one thousand kilometers, located in the Oriental and the Palaearctic region respectively. Moreover, the known wild hosts of this species, Saturnia japonica Moore, 1862 ( Lepidoptera : Saturniidae ), is widely distributed across eastern Asia).

DNA barcode. The newly generated DNA barcodes are similar to each other (0.2–2.4% p distance) and similar to the already published sequences (GenBank: MK373759 , Chen et al. 2019) (2.4–3.2 % p-distance).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Anastatus gastropachae (DNA 927): A, body, lateral; B, mesosoma, dorsal. Anastatus gansuensis (DNA 893): C, body, lateral; D, body, dorsal.

FIGURE 2. Anastatus gansuensis: A, body, lateral (DNA 887); B, fore wing (DNA 887); C, body, lateral (DNA 846); D, fore wing (DNA 846).