Caenochrysis aptata ( Linsenmaier, 1984 )

Rosa, Paolo & Brothers, Denis J., 2025, Nomenclatural and taxonomic updates on the Brazilian cuckoo-wasp catalogue (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae), Zootaxa 5642 (6), pp. 501-541 : 505-506

Caenochrysis aptata ( Linsenmaier, 1984) stat. resurr.

( Figs 1A–C )

Chrysis (Trichrysis) aptata Linsenmaier, 1984: 212 . Holotype ♀; Argentina: Entre Rios (NMLU, examined). Synonym of Caenochrysis armata ( Mocsáry, 1889) according to Kimsey & Bohart (1991: 301); Lucena et al. (2024: 16).

Caenochrysis aptata ( Linsenmaier, 1984) : present paper: stat. resurr.

Material examined. Holotype of Chrysis aptata , ♀: Argentin. prov. Entre Rios Pronunciamiento 1964 Coll. Linsenmaier / NML_ENT GBIF_Chr0041180 ( NMLU). Allotype and paratypes: 11♂♂, and 2♀♀: same data / NML_ENT GBIF_Chr0041165-41181 ( NMLU); 1♀: Bolivien La Paz 1953 3630m Coll. Linsenmaier / NML_ENT GBIF_ Chr 0041175 ( NMLU); 1♀: Brasilien Obidos Coll. Linsenmaier / NML_ENT GBIF_ Chr 0041166 ( NMLU); 4 ♀♀: Brasilien, Nova Teutonia 27°11’B–52°23’ L Fritz Plaumann X. 60, III.61, III.62, 300-500m / NML_ENT GBIF_ Chr 0041176-41179 ( NMLU).

Chrysis aptata Linsenmaier, 1984 and Cae. invisa Linsenmaier, 1984 were synonymized with Caenochrysis armata ( Mocsáry, 1889) . More broadly, Kimsey & Bohart (1991) synonymized 13 species within Caenochrysis , including six South American species described by Linsenmaier (1984), without examining primary types. Most of Linsenmaier’s (1984, 1985, 1994) Chrysididae described from North and South America are valid species and warrant reinstatement.

Linsenmaier’s (1984) description of Chrysis aptata and the holotype differ from the description of Cae. armata and specimens identified as Cae. armata by Ducke in European collections. Specifically, Cae. armata has short first and second flagellomeres of equal length, as described by Mocsáry (1889): “ tertio brevi, quarto aequali ” [Mocsáry’s third antennomere corresponds to the first flagellomere]; the transverse frontal carina is bilobed; the metasoma is blue with black to violet colour at the base (“ abdominis segmentis dorsalibus cyaneis, basi nigroviolaceis ”); the punctation is dense, with large punctures (“ dense sat crasse ”) that become smaller in the second half of the tergum, whereas Cae. aptata has the first flagellomere distinctly longer than the second (1.7 × as long) ( Fig. 1A ); the transverse frontal carina is arched ( Fig. 1A ); the metasoma is uniformly green laterally to blue dorsally, without any black, bluish or violet stripes or areas ( Figs 1A–C ), and the punctation is dense with small, uniform punctures across the entire tergum ( Fig. 1B ).

Caenochrysis aptata can further be distinguished from Cae. invisa by having the first flagellomere 1.7 × as long as the second; a sharp transverse frontal carina that is red and contrasts with the green-bluish head ( Fig. 1A ) and arched with two lateral, elongate branches directed to the vertex; the metasoma uniformly green to blue, without black to bluish or violet stripes or areas ( Fig. 1B ); the discoidal cell distinct, whereas Cae. invisa has the first flagellomere 1.4 × as long as the second; a weak transverse frontal carina, concolorous with the rest of the head and irregularly arched with two short, barely visible branches ( Fig. 1D ); the metasoma with a narrow dark to black stripe at the base of the first and second terga ( Fig. 1E ); and the discoidal cell faint ( Fig. 1F ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. A–C. Caenochrysis aptata (Linsenmaier, 1984), holotype, ♀; D–F. Caenochrysis invisa (Linsenmaier, 1984), holotype, ♀; A, D. Head, frontal view; B, E. Mesosoma, dorso-lateral view; C, F; Habitus, lateral view.