The case of Holopyga gogorzae Trautmann, 1926 and revision of the H. miranda group (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae)
Author
Rosa, Paolo
Author
Pavesi, Maurizio
text
Natural History Sciences
2020
2020-11-18
7
2
39
56
http://dx.doi.org/10.4081/nhs.2020.474
journal article
10.4081/nhs.2020.474
2385-0922
12753933
Redescription of
Holopyga calida
Linsenmaier, 1951
Male
: body length
3.5-5.5 mm
.
Head.
Vertex and frons with round, dense, 0.1-0.5 PD apart, shallow punctures; postero-laterally to ocelli with small polished area and tiny punctures; on ocellar area and occiput with smaller, sparse punctures. Scapal basin deep, glabrous, from smooth to distinctly striate. Ocellar triangle isosceles, with postocellar line deeply impressed. Clypeal apical margin straight. Malar space short, less than 1.0 MOD. Subantennal space less than 1.0 MOD, shorter than antennal socket diameter. Genal carina hardly visible from lower edge of eye to mandible. Mandibles tridentate, brown, at mid-length lighter. Relative length of P:F1:F2:F3 = 1.0:1.4:0.8:0.7. In dorsal view, temples angulate, with slightly convergent sides.
Fig. 6 -
Holopyga calida
Linsenmaier, 1951
; ♀ from Jerez, Spain / ♀ di Jerez, Spagna. A) habitus, lateral view / habitus, visione laterale; B) head, frontal view / capo, visione frontale; C) head, dorsal view / capo, visione dorsale; D) mesosoma, dorsal view / mesosoma, visione dorsale; E) metasoma, postero-lateral view / metasoma, visione postero-laterale; F) metasoma, ventral view / metasoma, visione ventrale.
Mesosoma
. Pronotum with double punctation and tiny punctures on intervals. Mesoscutum, between notauli, postero-medially with larger and denser punctures; notauli complete, visible as deep and fine lines, basally enlarged in a deep pit (1.0 MOD long); parapsidal furrows deep, as long as 2/3 of mesoscutal length. Suture between mesoscutum and mesoscutellum deep, broad (0.5
MOD
), non-metallic black. Mesoscutellum with large, uneven punctures, with tiny dots on polished intervals. Metascutellum with large, considerably deep, polygonal, foveate-reticulate punctures, with sharp intervals among them. Mesopleuron angulate, with large, foveate-reticulate punctures. Posterior propodeal projections triangular, directed backwards. Forewing medial vein strongly arched in the middle. Forefemur ventrally expanded and slightly carinate.
Metasoma
. Metasomal terga with small, even, and dense punctures, medially 0.5-1.0 PD apart, with polished intervals, laterally subcontiguous to subconfluent. Third tergum slightly swollen before apical margin, the latter with narrow, translucent rim, medially slightly emarginate. Second metasomal sternum postero-medially with small, scattered punctures. Genital capsule as in
Fig. 2A and B
.
Colouration
. Dorsally metallic red; axillary trough, mesosomal sutures and dorsal area of the metapectalpropodeal complex black; femora, on anterior side, and tibiae metallic red; body ventrally black. Scape black, with faint metallic reflections, flagellum black. Tegulae brown.
Vestiture
. Dorsally entirely covered with short (less than 1.0
MOD
), sparse, erect, whitish setae; the latter ventrally longer (up to 1.5
MOD
) on second and third metasomal sternum.
Female
: similar to male, yet easily recognizable for the shape of the third metasomal tergum, subovoid instead of rounded.
Distribution.
South-western Europe:
Spain
,
Portugal
, south of
France
. North Africa:
Morocco
.
Remarks.
Linsenmaier (1951)
described
calida
as a variety of
Holopyga gloriosa
(
sensu
Linsenmaier,
nec
Fabricius), giving as distribution “
Armenien
,
Palästina
,
Ägypten
,
Marokko
”. Later
Linsenmaier (1959)
, recognizing “
H. gloriosa
” as a complex of several distinct species, transferred
calida
as subspecies to
H. gogorzae
Trautmann
, with distribution restricted to
Morocco
(
type
locality), since specimens from Middle East were recognized to belong to different species; those from
Palestine
were described as
H. enslini
n. sp.
, while those from
Armenia
and
Egypt
were no longer dealt with. Incidentally, the original description of
H. gloriosa
var.
calida
is partly incorrect, where it says “dunkel bronzene Unterseite des Thorax” [= dark bronze underside of thorax], which indeed only applies to the true
H. calida
from
Morocco
, not to any of Eastern taxa,
H. enslini
included.
Fig. 7 -
Holopyga gloriosa
var.
calida
Linsenmaier, 1951
; ♀ paratype, Morocco / ♀ paratypus, Marocco. A) habitus, lateral view / habitus, visione laterale; B) head, frontal view / capo, visione frontale; C) head, dorsal view / capo, visione dorsale; D) mesosoma, dorsal view / mesosoma, visione dorsale; E) metasoma, postero-lateral view / metasoma, visione postero-laterale; F) metasoma, ventral view / metasoma, visione ventrale.
As discussed above, however, Linsenmaier’s
H. gogorzae
was misinterpreted.
Holopyga calida
in our opinion deserves good species rank, because well distinct from the true
H. gogorzae
Trautmann
through entirely red (except for underside) body colouration, head in frontal view wider than high, and shape of genital capsule. The differences reported by
Linsenmaier (1959
,
1999
) between the Moroccan
calida
(
Figs. 4A, B
and
7
) and the alleged Spanish nominotypical subspecies (
Figs. 5
and
6
) are here considered not worthy of a subspecific distinction, although the finer and sparser metasomal punctation, which results in a brighter shine, appears to be consistent. The dimensions, said to be smaller in Moroccan populations, conversely proved overall variable.