Chrysura izadiae Strumia & Fallahzadeh, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Strumia, Franco
name: Fallahzadeh, Majid
name: Izadi, Elaheh
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Chrysididae
Chrysura
Chrysura izadiae

description: Chrysura izadiae Strumia & Fallahzadeh sp. nov. (Figs 1–2, 9–17)
Material examined. Holotype, ♂, IRAN, Fars Province, Kherameh (29º30'51"N, 53°18'40"E), 27.04.2013; leg. E. Izadi (L = 6.9 mm) (Pisa University Natural History Museum collection, Italy). Paratypes: 2♂♂, the same label as holotype but 19.04.2013 (L =6.1 and 6.5 mm respectively) (F. Strumia collection); 1♂, the same label as holotype but 9.04.2013 (L = 6.2 mm) (F. Strumia collection); 1♀, Kherameh (29º30'42"N, 53°18'55"E), 31.05.2013; leg. E. Izadi (L = 7.1 mm) (F. Strumia collection); 1♂, Darab (28º51'N, 54°18'E), 14.05.2013; leg. M. Khosroabadi (L = 6.8 mm) (Jahrom branch, Islamic Azad University collection, Department of Entomology, Fars, Iran).
Diagnosis. Chrysura izadiae sp. nov. differs from all known species of Ch. dichroa species - group by the entirely green - blue body colour. The punctures on metasoma dorsum are as in Ch. laevigata. The interspaces are smooth and Ch. izadiae sp. nov. is more shining than other species of the group. In addition, the scutellar punctures are clearly double and the median carina on S1 is evidenced as a stripe of very fine punctures (Fig. 17).
Description. Head. Head transverse, larger than pronotum; L/w=2.5 (2.3 in ♀ paratype); malar space 2.0 MOD long; subantennal space 1.1 MOD long (1.2 in ♀ paratype); mandible dark brown and metallic blue basally on external side, with additional tooth distally; face with uniform fine punctures and few sparse white setae about 2 MOD long; clypeus short with fine punctures and central hump (Fig 13, 14); angle between ocelli about 90º; vertex with erect sparse black setae about 2.0 MOD long; antenna with relative length of P:F1:F2 =1:2:1 (1:2.2: 1 in ♀ paratype); F1 L/w=3.5 (3.4 in ♀ paratype); gena longer than wide with few long white setae (Fig. 14); F2–F5 bulging ventrally in male (Fig. 1). Mesosoma. Pronotal anteromedial groove weak; propodeal angle triangular, backward directed; mesonotum dorsum closely punctate, PD=0.4 MOD, PS=0.2 PD; punctures double, sparser on scutellum; metanotum evenly rounded and shorter than scutellum; legs metallic blue; tarsus brown; wing hyaline, veins dark brown; radial cell close; tegula dark blue; in male pronotum deeply concave laterally, with anterior angle acute (Fig. 1). Metasoma. T1 and T2 closely punctate, PD=0.2 MOD, on T2 smaller and sparser distally, interpuncture intervals smooth and shining dorsally; distal border and central carina of T1 finely punctate (Fig. 17); punctures on T3 double; pit row of about 10 pits. Male genital capsule (Figs 9–11) with general shape of Ch. dichroa species - group (Figs 3–8). Also S 8 in agreement with genus Chrysura (Fig. 11).
Colour. Head uniform blue (Fig. 1); antenna black with scape, pedicel and F1 metallic blue - green (Figs 1, 14); leg metallic blue; tarsus brown; wing hyaline, veins black; tegula dark blue; ventrally metallic green; black spots of S2 rectangular and well separated, touching lateral border.
Sexual dimorphism. Male and female of Ch. izadiae sp. nov. differ for following features: pronotum of male is deeply concaved laterally (Fig. 1); apical margin of T3 of male is weakly incised to an obtuse angle and of the same green colour of T1 and T2; distal margin of T3 of female evenly round and with metallic pink - red colour, contrasting with the rest of terga (Figs 12, 17); female paratype more greenish in colour on anterior part of mesosoma and metasoma dorsally (Figs 1–2).
Distribution and phenology. Iran (Fars). Five specimens were collected in a Punica granatum (Lythraceae) garden, located on northern border of Kherameh town. Male paratype was found in a Citrus spp. (Rutaceae) garden from Darab. Both sites have an altitude of about 1600 m above sea level. Chrysura izadiae sp. nov. was captured in spring: males in middle April and female at the end of May.
Average body length: ♂♂: L= 6.5 mm (SD= 0.16 mm); ♀ paratype: L= 7.1 mm; average body length of all ♂ and ♀: L= 6.6 mm (SD= 0.4 mm). Males are smaller than female for about 3 standard deviations.
Etymology. The species is named after Elaheh Izadi, who collected the holotype.
Comments. Chrysura izadiae sp. nov., is not the only species from Iran with a uniform blue - green body colour.
Chrysura genalis (Mocsáry, 1887) and the recently described Ch. baiocchii (Rosa, 2013) are also entirely metallic green. Male genital capsule of the new species is similar to that of Ch. laevigata and quite different from Ch. genalis and Ch. baiocchii as illustrated by Radoszkowski (1889) and Rosa and Lotfalizadeh (2013). Rosa and Lotfalizadeh (2013) proposed a new species - group for Ch. baiocchii based on modified metasomal internal segments, in particular sclerotized T4–6. In addition, punctation of metasoma of Ch. izadiae sp. nov. differs, being larger and sparser in Ch. baiocchii, as shown in Rosa & Lotfalizadeh (2013: Fig. 2) and in Figs 2, 16 of present paper.
Additional material studied. Chrysura filiformis (Mocsáry, 1889), ♂♂, ♀♀ from Italy and Syria, Ch. dichroa (Dahlbom, 1854) from Italy and Greece, Ch. laconiae (Arens, 2001) from Greece, Ch. lydiae (Mocsáry, 1889) from Italy and Greece, Ch. laevigata (Abeille de Perrin, 1879) from Italy and Syria, Ch. pseudodichroa (Linsenmaier, 1959) from Greece and Turkey, and Ch. genalis (Mocsáry, 1887), ♂, ♀ from Iran (Fars).
description: Published as part of Strumia, Franco, Fallahzadeh, Majid & Izadi, Elaheh, 2016, Chrysura izadiae sp. nov., a new cuckoo wasp (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae) from Southern Iran, pp. 281-285 in Zootaxa 4061 (3) on pages 282-285, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4061.3.7, http://zenodo.org/record/257168