Female. Body length 5.0–5.4 mm (holotype 5.4 mm (Fig. 3)). Forewing length 3.0–3.5 mm.

Head. Brow with medium, contiguous punctures (ca. 0.4 × MOD), suddenly decreasing diameter from frontal declivity to malar spaces and clypeus (Fig. 3C); face, in frontal view, micropunctate along inner eye margin; scapal basin with polished intervals; medial line complete from anterior ocellus to clypeus; clypeus finely punctate with wide polished intervals; clypeal apical margin thickened, triangularly-shaped, non-metallic brown; ocellar area with small punctures, without line connecting posterior ocelli; temples regularly rounded, double punctate. OOL = 1.9 × MOD; POL = 1.5 × MOD; MS = 0.6 × MOD; relative length of P:F1:F2:F3 = 1:1.1:0.8:0.8. Malar space as long as antennal thickness.

Mesosoma. Pronotum with punctation irregularly sized, mostly contiguous and large, umbelicate punctures up to 0.6 MOD; intervals between large punctures densely micropunctate. Mesoscutum with similar punctuation, yet punctures relatively smaller and micropunctures sparser compared to intervals on pronotum. Scutellum with polished intervals and sparse micropunctures. Metascutellum with reticulate-foveate punctures (0.8 × MOD). Metapectal-propodeal complex with metapostnotum wider than in other species (Fig. 4A) and posterior propodeal projection [= propodeal teeth] triangular, with thickened, blunt apex, slightly pointing backwards. Forewing medial vein 1.5 times as long as RS stub, medially gently arched; Rs stub as along as pterostigma. Hind leg unmodified, metatibia entirely black, without visible spots or depressions.

Metasoma. Punctation on terga minute, even, sparse, regularly spaced, 1–2 PD apart. Third tergum laterally with denser, deeper punctures (Fig. 3E); posterior margin with hyaline rim (2 PD).

Colouration. Head blue with two large golden-red spots on brow, between anterior ocellus and eyes; clypeus, malar space and base of mandible greenish; ocelli area blackish. Pronotum and mesonotum red, lateral and posterior margin of scutellum green; rest of mesosoma blue, with green mesopleuron and legs. Metasoma dorsally red, ventrally black with two large, oblique green to blue spots on second sternum (Fig. 3C). Mandible entirely dark brown. Scape black with slight metallic reflection, pedicel and flagellomeres black; tegula black. Wings slightly infuscate.

Male: Paratype from Teruel similar to female, with face laterally covered with appressed, silvery setae; antennae elongate, with slender flagellum and cylindrical articles. Paratype from Granada smaller (4.0 mm) with red colouration turned to green (Fig. 3G); genital capsule as in Fig. 3H, with slender cuspis, apically unmodified.

The genus Hedychridium Abeille de Perrin, 1878 in Iberia includes 34 species and two subspecies (Rosa and Soon 2012), whereas three previous members were recently moved from the genus Hedychridium to the genus Colopopyga Semenov-Tian-Shanskji, 1954 (Rosa 2017). Twenty-five of these species are known from Portugal (Rosa et al., in preparation). Mingo (1994) listed only 26 species for Iberia, another nine were overlooked, but has previously been described or cited from Spain by Linsenmaier (Linsenmaier 1959, Linsenmaier 1968, Linsenmaier 1987) and two species, H. infantum Linsenmaier, 1997 and H. balearicum Strumia, 2013, were described later.

The list of Hedychridium species known from Iberia is given below, with species subdivided by species groups following Linsenmaier’s classification (Rosa et al. 2022) and modifications proposed by Pauli et al. (2019), based on multigene molecular analyses.

anale group: Hedychridium anale (Dahlbom, 1854); H. dubium Mercet, 1904;

ardens group: H. adventicium Zimmermann, 1961, H. aereolum du Buysson, 1891, H. ardens (Coquebert, 1801), H. buyssoni Abeille de Perrin, 1887, H. cupritibiale Linsenmaier, 1987, H. ibericum Linsenmaier, 1959, H. infans Abeille de Perrin, 1879, H. infans santschii Trautmann, 1927, H. infantum Linsenmaier, 1987, H. jucundum (Mocsáry, 1889), H. marteni Linsenmaier, 1951; H. reticulatum Abeille de Perrin, 1878, H. sevillanum Linsenmaier, 1968;

coriaceum group: H. coriaceum (Dahlbom, 1854), H. krajniki Balthasar, 1953;

cupratum group: H. cupratum (Dahlbom, 1854);

femoratum group: H. elegantulum du Buysson, 1887, H. femoratum (Dahlbom, 1854), H. gratiosum Abeille de Perrin, 1878;

heliophilum group: H. heliophilum du Buysson, 1887, H. vachali Mercet, 1915;

incrassatum group: H. incrassatum (Dahlbom, 1854);

monochroum group: H. balearicum Strumia, 2013, H. carmelitanum Mercet, 1915, H. minutussimum Mercet, 1915, H. monochroum du Buysson, 1888;

plagiatum group: H. andalusicum Trautmann, 1920, H. franciscanum Linsenmaier, 1987;

roseum group: H. chloropygum du Buysson, 1888, H. mediocrum Linsenmaier, 1987, H. roseum (Rossi, 1790), H. scutellare (Tournier, 1878), H. subroseum Linsenmaier, 1959, H. subroseum prochloropygum Linsenmaier, 1959.

The following three species were moved in the genus Colpopyga, supported by morphological and molecular evidence (Rosa 2017, Pauli et al. 2019): C. auriventris (Mercet, 1904), C. flavipes (Eversmann, 1858) and C. temperata (Linsenmaier, 1959). Three species are also known for the Canary slands and are considered endemic: Hedychridium extraneum Linsenmaier, 1993, H. tricavatum Linsenmaier, 1993 and H. viridicupreum Linsenmaier, 1993.

Another species, Hedychridium suave (Tournier, 1878), was described from Spain (Andalucía) and has been considered to be a synonym of H. roseum by Linsenmaier (1951), Mingo (1994) and Kimsey and Bohart (1991), who erroneously placed the type locality in Switzerland (Léman area). None of these authors examined the type deposited at the Museum in Geneva. According to the labels pinned with the type specimen, the type locality is Tangier in Morocco and not Andalucía. Hedychridium suave does not belong to the roseum group, but to the femoratum group; it is a valid species and, based on its aspect and colouration, this taxon should be a North African species and the Andalusian locality is an error. Tournier is well-known for confusing European and Moroccan localities, as has already happened in other insect families as well as in Chrysididae (see the case of Chrysis superba Tournier, 1879 in Linsenmaier (1968). For the moment, we do not consider H. suave to be a member of the Iberian fauna.

Hedychridium calcarium sp. nov. belongs to the ardens species group due to the shape of the second metatarsomere which is longer than the third, the punctate scapal basin, the general habitus and the body colouration (Fig. 3). Hedychridium calcarium sp. nov. has small to medium dimensions, from 4.0 to 5.4 mm; head blue with two red patches on brow between anterior ocellus and compound eye; black ocellar area; red pronotum and mesonotum, rest of mesosoma blue with greenish reflections; metasoma dorsally red and ventrally black with two large and oblique green-bluish spots on the second sternum. Punctation dense, even and deep on vertex; the largest punctures deep and umbelicate on pronotum, with intervals densely micropunctate; mesoscutum with smaller, shallower and sparser punctures, intervals less densely micropunctate compared to pronotum; metanotum with sparse micropunctures on shining intervals; metapostnotum distinctly enlarged compared to the same morphological part of the closest species, H. jucundum (Fig. 4), in which it is triangular. Metasomal sculpture with even, dense and small punctures equally spaced; apical margin of the third tergum with wide hyaline margin (2–3 PD).

Besides different body sculpture and morphological characters, Hedychridium calcarium sp. nov. can be immediately separated from H. ardens, H. marteni and H. ibericum by its blue metanotum, contrasting with red scutellum (concolourous in the other species); from H. cupritibiale by the blue face, contrasting with the red head on vertex (entirely red in H. sevillanum); from H. sevillanum by the different body colour, which is green to bronze in the latter and by the metanotum bronze to green, slightly contrasting with the rest of the red body colour. For comparison, pictures of H. ardens can be found in Paukkunen et al. (2015) and pictures of all the remaining species can be found in the illustrated catalogue of Linsenmaier’s types (Rosa et al. 2022). Finally, H. infans, H. adventicium and H. infantum can be immediately separated by their very small size (2–3 mm) and the different colouration, the first having metallic tegulae (a unique feature), the other two a green line along the posterior margin of the pronotum. The species morphologically and chromatically closer to H. calcarium sp. nov. are H. jucundum, H. reticulatum sensu Linsenmaier (1959) and H. buyssoni. However, H. jucundum can be differentiated by a dark to black spot on discum of second tergum and by the vertex entirely golden to red; in case of doubt, the triangular shape of the metapostnotum is diagnostic (Fig. 4); H. reticulatum by the red mesopleuron and, finally, H. buyssoni by the green vertex, the stocky body, the first tergum shorter medially and angled on anterior margins, the metasoma with denser and deeper punctures. The male of H. calcarium sp. nov. has the same colouration of the female and can be separated from the similar male of H. jucundum by the colour of the head and the shape of the genital capsule with cuspis apically slender, unmodified (vs. apically enlarged and curved in H. jucundum (see Rosa 2017)).

Outside the Iberian Peninsula, only Hedychridium bytinskii Linsenmaier, 1959 can be confused with H. calcarium sp.nov. H. bytinskii was described from Palestine and is known from Greece and Turkey (Linsenmaier 1968, Linsenmaier 1999). Linsenmaier (Linsenmaier 1968, Linsenmaier 1999) listed this species from Morocco, but the Moroccan specimens may actually belong to the western Mediterranean species H. calcarium. The latter can be immediately recognised by the dark metasomal sterna, with two small dark green spots on the second sternum, whereas H. bytinskii specimens from the east Mediterranean have the first sternum (largely) and second sternum (entirely) bright green (see pictures of the type in Rosa et al. (2022), Fig. 7E). The second sternum of H. bytinskii is also characterised by only a few and sparse punctures bearing long setae, whereas H. calcarium has a denser punctation (Fig. 1F) with short setae that are approximately one third as long as those of H. bytinskii. The colour pattern of the head also differs between the two species, with the entire vertex in H. bytinskii coloured flame red, distinctly contrasting the blue head and the green declivity of the frons, with the ocelli area flame red; the red area on the vertex of H. calcarium is less strongly contrasting and the ocelli area is black. The scutellum is entirely flame red in H. bytinskii, whereas it is metallic green on its posterior margin in H. calcarium. Barcoding analyses of the eastern Mediterranean H. bytinskii are needed to evaluate the genetic distance between the two species.

The epithet calcarium derives from the Latin adjective calcarius related to the limestone habitat of the species.

Spain (provinces of Teruel and Granada). At each locality, the species was found in dry grassland on calcareous soil, such as at the Barranco de los Oncenachos (Fig. 6).

The host is unknown, but is likely to be a small apoid wasp, in line with other members of the Hedychridium ardens group.

Female. Body length (holotype) 5.0 mm. Forewing length 3.5 mm.

Head. Vertex and frons with small, contiguous punctures (from 0.2× to 0.3× MOD) and polished interspaces below brow; transverse frontal carina faint; scapal basin medially transversally microridged, laterally with small punctures increasing diameter towards eye (Fig. 7D); malar spaces densely punctate, elongate (1.7× MOD), shorter than first flagellomere (2.0× MOD) and with short dense, silver setae; genal carina fully developed to mandibular insertion; clypeus mostly polished, sparsely punctate along anterior margin; clypeus elongate, subantennal area 1.7 MOD; medially notched and apically thickened. First flagellomere elongate, l/w = 4 (width taken at base of flagellomere). OOL 1.4× MOD; POL 2.0× MOD; MS 1.7× MOD; relative length of P:F1:F2:F3 = 1.0:1.6:0.9:0.7.

Mesosoma. Medial pronotal line narrow and short, reaching half pronotal length; pronotum antero-laterally slightly bulging (Fig. 7); pronotal punctation double and interspaces polished with sparse minute dots; notaulus basally formed by small subrectangular foveae becoming smaller and rounded at apex; parapsidal signum as a linear depression; mesoscutellum dense puncture and irregular interspaces, antero-medially corrugated and becoming polished towards base; scrobal sulcus of mesopleuron formed by large foveae aligned, limited to upper half; episternal sulcus formed by large and irregular, subsquare foveae; punctation with dots on interspaces and larger punctures on mesepisterum; scutellar-metanotal suture deep and wide; metanotum with contiguous punctures, larger than other punctures on mesosoma; posterior propodeal projections slightly divergent; wing venation unmodified.

Metasoma. First tergum double punctate, with large punctures separated by small punctures on interspaces; second and third tergum double punctate, larger punctures smaller than those on first tergum; punctures on metasomal separated by polished interspaces (Fig. 7B, Fig. 7F); pit row composed by small, deep pits, apical margin of third tergum continuous, dark blue, medially arcuate; black spots of the second sternum large, covering almost all segment length, reaching median line.

Colouration. Head and mesosoma dark blue, pronotum and lateral areas of mesoscutum flame red, scutellum with light blue highlights; metasoma red to purplish, apical margin of third tergum blue. Scape, pedicel and first tergum black with weak greenish-metallic lustre, rest of flagellum black; tegula blue; metasomal venter black, with only a narrow blue thin line between the black spots and the apical margin of the second sternum. Legs blue, tarsi dark brown.

Male. Body length 5.0–6.0 mm. Similar to female in shape, sculpture and colouration. Malar space slightly shorter, scapal basin laterally covered by short, dense, appressed and silvery pubescence; blue segments of mesososoma with greenish reflection, propodeum and propodeal angles dorsally green to golden green; brown. Male genital capsule (Fig. 8A) with inner margin of the gonocoxa straight.

Medium-sized, slender species (5–6 mm); head and mesosoma blue, pronotum and lateral areas of mesoscutum red; mesosoma dorsally red to purple, apical margin of third tergum blue; metasoma ventrally black, black spots on second sternum large, covering almost all surface and touching mid-line, without being clearly fused with each other; narrow stripe on apical margin of second tergum blue. Metasoma punctation double, dense, with polished interspaces between the large and small punctures. Chrysis crossi sp. nov. is chromatically and morphologically similar to C. phryne Abeille de Perrin, 1878, but it is clearly separated genetically (see below). The main diagnostic characters to separate both sexes from C. phryne is the punctation, which consists of distinct double punctures on the metasomal scutum, these being separated by polished interspaces (Fig. 7E, Fig. 9A), whereas in C. phryne, the punctation is even and dense, without polished spaces. The metasomal venter is black in both sexes; black spots on second sternum large, covering almost all surface and touching mid-line with a narrow blue line between the black spots and the apical margin of the segment; in C. phryne, the sternum is clearly metallic green to golden green, with black spots distinctly separate from mid-line. The male genital capsule of the two species is different (Fig. 8) being narrower and more slender in C. crossi sp. nov., with the inner margin of the gonocoxa straight. Male can be also recognised by their brown tarsi, which are pale to yellowish in C. phryne.

The specific epithet crossi (masculine) is dedicated to Ian Cross (Dorchester, Dorset, UK) for his active research on Portuguese Hymenoptera, including cuckoo wasps, many specimens of which were used for the current InBIO Barcoding Initiative work.

Portugal (Algarve).

Label information from Ian Cross reports that a male specimen was collected at an aggregation of Melitturga caudata Pérez, 1879 (Andrenidae), on the sand near empty snail shells. Chrysis phryne has been reported to attack Osmia (Allosmia) melanura Morawitz, 1871 (see Pauli et al. (2019)), but this cannot be the typical host across much of its range as, in Europe, O. melanura is restricted to southern Italy, North Macedonia and southern Ukraine (Müller 2022). It is likely that a different snail shell-nesting O. (Allosmia) is used instead, all known species of O. (Allosmia) using this nesting substrate. The likely host is O. (Allosmia) rufohirta Latreille, 1811 which is widely distributed across Europe and is the only O. (Allosmia) known from Portugal (Müller 2022), being common in the Algarve (Baldock et al. 2018). We suggest that O. rufohirta is the likely host of C. crossi, though this must be confirmed through direct observations.

According to Linsenmaier (1959), the phryne group includes only two species: Chrysis circe Mocsáry, 1889 and C. phryne Abeille de Perrin, 1878, with three subspecies C. phryne s.str., C. phryne hebraeica Linsenmaier, 1959 and C. phryne burgenlandia Linsenmaier, 1968. The types of these subspecies have been examined and C. hebraeica stat. nov. has to be considered to be a distinct species, based on morphological analyses, as it displays greater morphological differences from C. phryne s.str. than C. crossi. Comments on the specific status of C. phryne burgenlandia (known from Austria to Greece) should be postponed until genetic sequences are available, because the main diagnostic characters are based on body colouration only.

Finally, Mocsáry (1889) described Chrysis destefanii, based on the description of a specimen collected in Sicily by De Stefani-Perez and identified as C. candens by du Buysson (1888). The type of Chrysis destefanii is currently considered to be lost, as is large part of De Stefani’s collection (Romano 2006). Chrysis destefanii was considered to be a synonym of C. phryne by Linsenmaier (1959) and Kimsey and Bohart (1991). Strumia and Yildirim (2009) identified a specimen from Turkey as Chrysis destefanii, yet this record may be related to Chrysis hebraeica or to an undescribed species of the similar rubricata group that has already been observed in the Middle East (PR, unpublished data). Based on the descriptions by du Buysson (1888) and Mocsáry (1889) and, in particular, on the detail on the punctation of the second tergum “régulière formée de points égaux, assez serrés”, the synonymy between Chrysis destefanii and C. crossi is excluded and De Stefani’s specimen would appear to be conspecific with C. phryne. Since the type of Chrysis destefanii is lost, we treat C. destefani as nomen dubium, until such a point that molecular data are available for Sicilian specimens.