Chrysis amerii Rosa & Farhad, 2024

Rosa, Paolo, Farhad, Afrouz, Talebi, Ali Asghar, Ameri, Ali, Baiocchi, Daniele, Halada, Marek & Rakhshani, Ehsan, 2024, The Iranian Chrysididae (Hymenoptera), the current state of the art, with an updated checklist and description of eleven new species, Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics 10 (4), pp. 827-951 : 857-858

Chrysis amerii Rosa & Farhad , sp. nov. ( Fig. 9A–F)

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Material examined. Holotype ♀; IRAN, Hormozgan province: Chelo , 27°10'30"N, 57°01'09"E, 23.iii.2012, leg. A. Ameri ( TMUC) . Paratype 1♀, same locality, 18.v.2012, leg. A. Ameri ( PRC).

Diagnosis. Chrysis amerii sp. nov. belongs to the Chrysis succincta species group which includes medium to large species (5.0–9.0 mm) with apical margin of the third metasomal tergum edentate, bidentate, tridentate or quadridentate; scapal basin microridged in male, and completely polished and smooth in female; transverse frontal carina normally developed; black spots on second metasomal sternum various, usually covering large part of sternum. Chrysis amerii sp. nov. can be immediately separated by other species of this group by the combination of the following diagnostic characters: metallic blue body, with greenish spots at sides of second tergum ( Fig. 9E); apical margin of third tergum with a median protrusion, apically truncate ( Fig. 9D, E); transverse frontal carina double ( Fig. 9A), with the upper carina crescent and sharp medially; pronotum with shallow, barely visible antero-median depression, composed by short row of small punctures. Chrysis amerii can be separated from the other green to blue species of succincta group by simple apical margin of third tergum, with a single, median protrusion, whereas apical margin of C. robertsi Rosa, 2021 is quadridentate and apical margin of C. maidaquensis Strumia, 2014 is tridentate. Outside Iran, other blue species can be separated by Chrysis amerii sp. nov. for triadentate apical margin, such as C. minutissima Radoszkowski, 1876 , or for quadridentate apical margin, as C. friesei du Buysson, 1900 .

Description. Holotype ♀ ( Fig. 9A–F). Body length 7.6 mm; anterior wing length 4 mm.

Head. Brow with dense and small punctures between anterior ocellus and upper branch of transverse frontal carina; punctation denser, with small punctures on ocellar area; spaced between posterior ocelli and compound eye; postero-laterad posterior ocelli with punctures separated by polished, wide interspaces up to 2 puncture diameter; posterior ocelli with postero-lateral deep, round and small fovea; temple largely polished, with small, scattered punctures; scapal basin typically deep and medially polished, laterally densely and finely punctate, each puncture bearing white seta; malar space finely and densely punctate; upper transverse frontal carina vaguely M-shaped, with median part distinctly raised, almost straight, and laterally downcurved connecting lower part of frontal carina, toping scapal basin ( Fig. 9A); genal carina sharp, straight, fully developed from occiput to mandibular insertion; subantennal space short, 0.5× MOD; apex of clypeus arcuate inward with narrow dark brown rim. Clypeus medially polished; with a row of small punctures before apical rim; punctures small and dense laterally, bearing a white seta. Distance between anterior ocellus and upper margin of frontal carina 1.2× MOD; distance between anterior ocellus and upper margin of scapal basin = 2.0× MOD. OOL 1.7× MOD; POL 2.5× MOD; MS 1.0× MOD; relative length of P:F1:F2:F3 = 1.0:1.5:0.9:0.9.

Mesosoma . Medial pronotal furrow shallow, barely visible, apicomedially as short row of small punctures; pronotum with small punctures, irregularly sized from very small to small (0.1–0.4× MOD); polished interspaces as large as 1 to 2 puncture diameters along anterior margin; puncture denser on posterior half with very small punctures (not dots) between larger ones; punctation on mesoscutum and scutellum shallow and spaced medially ( Fig. 9B), with small punctures, at most 0.5× MOD; interspaces polished, as large as 1 to 2 puncture diameters; punctation on lateral area of mesoscutum contrasting, denser and deeper; notauli formed by deep, metallic, sub-square foveae, as large as larger punctures on mesonotum; parapsidal signum deep and distinct; scutellum antero-medially largely polished, punctation denser along margins; scutellar-metanotal suture deep, with large median fovea; posterior propodeal projections divergent; mesopleuron with episternal sulcus formed by large subsquare foveae, larger than other punctures on segment ( Fig. 9C).

Metasoma. First tergum with even, medium sized punctures, equally spaced ( Fig. 9D); second tergum with slightly smaller punctures, denser antero-dorsally, almost without interspaces; laterally and on second half of tergum with spaced and shallower punctures, with larger, polished interspaces up to 2 puncture diameters; longitudinal median carina weak; third tergum with small, scattered punctures, with small punctures on interspaces; apical margin almost continuous, apico-medially protruding and truncate at apex protrusion ( Fig. 9E); apical margin of tergum with narrow, brownish rim; pits of pit row small, shallow, black, only slightly larger than larger punctures on tergum ( Fig. 9E); black spots on second sternum relatively small, covering about half sternum length; posterior margin of black spots obliquous; spots medially fused ( Fig. 9F).

Colouration. Body dark blue with purplish reflections; scutellum and posterior margin of second tergum with greenish reflections; scape, pedicel and first flagellum basally metallic, other flagellomere blackish; wings hyaline, with brown veins.

Vestiture. Head dorsally with short, dense greyish to whitish setae as long as 1× MOD; ventrally with long white setae, at least 2× MOD long; mesosoma and metasoma dorsally with short (1× MOD) greyish setae, laterally on metasoma and on legs with erect, very long white hairs, as long as 2–3× MOD.

Male. Unknown.

Etymology. The specific epithet amerii (masculine noun in genitive) is dedicated to Ali Ameri ( Tehran, Iran), for his contribution to the study of Iranian Chrysididae , having collected a large number of new species for the country and for science in the last decade.

Distribution. * Iran ( Hormozgan).