Chrysis.net Forum

Hello,
Can anybody confirm I got a Chrysis bischoffi or Chrysis ignita bischoffi ?

Reared from Euminae (Euodynerus?) mud nests with pupae in the channel in a window frame on 5.4.2021, 2 adults reared 13.5.2021 (Spain: Catalonia: Girona: Beuda), one male was found dead and collected and another adult was let to fly.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/78755348
the male collected

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/78850594
another adult cf female that was let to fly


Thanks !

Habitus lateral

Habitus ventral

Mandible lateral

Vertex

Hi Rafa,

fantastic pictures

Your ID is correct. friendly speaking, I consider bischoffi as a valid and separated species, as well as all the other Linsenmaier's subspecies in the ignita group.

However, unlike other (sub)species examined by means of molecular analyses in central and northern Europe, nobody have yet analysed and officially upgraded bischoffi to species rank.

Congratulations for using morphometric keys. As far as I know, you're the first to use these keys. They usually scare people

I checked the other picture of the forum and I cannot confirm that it belongs to the same species. I need to see some details, do you have this specimen in your hands?

Cheers
Paolo

Hi Paolo, thanks for answering me
1. If there are two nests one next to the other and one is been parasitized by a cuckoo wasp, and from both they emerge wasps in the next days, I assume both are the same species. It would be very rare they rear different species. ¿Or not?
2. The sternites colour were a bit different from those depicted of C.ignita at Orlovskytė et al 2016. Is it typical of C.bischoffi?
3. In this pictures https://www.biodiversidadvirtual.org/insectarium/Chrysis-ignita-bischoffi-Linsenmaier-1959-img320331.htmlof C.ignita bischoffi, the dorsal part of tergum has also bluish reflections. Is it typical of C.bischoffi?
4. As the 2nd specimen emerged the next day and had different tergum colour, I assumed it could be a female. It was not collected.
Best wishes

Hi Rafa,

1. If there are two nests one next to the other and one is been parasitized by a cuckoo wasp, and from both they emerge wasps in the next days, I assume both are the same species. It would be very rare they rear different species. ¿Or not?

Not necessarily,
different species may deposit an egg in the same nest and even in the same cell. In literature there are records of cuckoo wasps first instar larva that after emerging first kills other parasitoid larvae (including cuckoo wasps) deposited in the nest and then move to the stored prey or the host larva.

2. The sternites colour were a bit different from those depicted of C.ignita at Orlovskytė et al 2016. Is it typical of C.bischoffi?

yes, these are typical of bischoffi

3. In this pictures https://www.biodiversidadvirtual.org/in ... 331.htmlof C.ignita bischoffi, the dorsal part of tergum has also bluish reflections. Is it typical of C.bischoffi?

yes, they are more frequently found with blue to violet reflections on the metasoma.
However, almost all cuckoo wasps (in particular Chrysis of all species groups) from Southern Spain have terga darker, blue to violet, compared to specimens from other parts of Europe.

4. As the 2nd specimen emerged the next day and had different tergum colour, I assumed it could be a female. It was not collected.

That could be ...

Ciao!