Eupelmus atropurpureus Dalman, 1820

Eupelmus atropurpureus Dalman, 1820 View in CoL

Figs 17, 18

Material examined. 19 ♀♀, 6 ♂♂: IRAN, West-Azarbaijan Province , Naqadeh, Solduz Wetland, 37º02′ N, 45º35′ E, 1277 m a.s.l., 21 July 2020, 29 April 2021, Y. Karimpour leg., ex Calamagrostis epigejos GoogleMaps .

Diagnosis (abstracted from Gibson and Fusu 2016). Females ( Fig. 17A) most often brachypterous; head and mesosoma predominantly dark brown to violaceous with distinct metallic green to bluish reflections, particularly on frons and scutellar–axillar complex ( Fig. 17A); fore wings short, often truncate apically, and uniformly setose ( Fig. 17D,H); legs mostly dark, with only knees, tibial apices, or basal tarsomeres variably pale; ovipositor sheaths usually entirely dark, but some brachypterous females can have a medial pale band ( Fig. 17A). Other diagnostic features include lanceolate white setae on lower face and parascrobal region ( Fig. 17C,E), at least four mesotibial apical pegs with a generally symmetrical arrangement on mesotarsus ( Fig. 17F), and propodeum bearing a broad U-shaped median depression ( Fig. 17G).

The strongly sexually dimorphic males are smaller and fully winged; head commonly with a green or coppery luster, especially on lower face and frons ( Fig. 18A); antenna elongate-filiform with pedicel about 1.3× as long as wide, ventrally bearing a row of four or five hook-like white setae; clava subequal in length to apical two funiculars ( Fig. 18B); setae on face fine and evenly distributed, but gena posterior to malar sulcus with one distinctly elongate seta; mesosoma metallic green with slight coppery reflections ( Fig. 18A); fore wings with marginal vein about twice as long as stigmal vein, with both costal and basal cells setose; legs mostly pale yellowish ( Fig. 18C).

Distribution. IRAN: West Azarbaijan Province ( new record). The earlier report from Iran, Mazandaran province by Sakenin Chelav et al. (2018), is considered uncertain due to the lack of voucher specimens available for verification. In contrast, our present findings confirm the presence and distribution of this species within Iran. EXTRALIMITAL: Caucasus, Europe, former USSR, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Russia, United States of America ( UCD Community 2023). Additional countries based on Gibson and Fusu (2016): Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, China, Kyrgyzstan, Portugal and Turkey.

Biological association. This parasitoid species exhibits a broad host range spanning multiple insect-plant associations (14 insect families across 4 orders associated with 9 plant families) ( UCD Community 2023). The taxonomic diversity of insects emerging from Calamagrostis samples strongly suggests the presence of suitable hosts. Given the notably high population density of Tetramesa species observed on Calamagrostis host plants, this gall wasp genus likely represents a primary host for the species.