First report of the cuckoo wasp Chrysidea falsa (Hymenoptera) from India

Abstract

Only two species of Chrysidea Bischoff, 1913 have been reported from India: C. furiosa (Cameron, 1897) from West Bengal and C. pumila (Klug, 1845) from Maharashtra. Here, we report the first record of a third species, C. falsa Rosa & Xu, 2015 from India, previously recorded only from China, Malaysia, and the Philippines, and thereby extending the known range of this species. We randomly collected chrysidids from Kasaragod and Calicut Districts in Kerala, which lies in the south-western part of India. Six specimens of C. falsa were collected using sweep nets. Five of them were from two sacred groves in Kasaragod District, Edayilakkad Kavu and Koyithatta Sree Dharma Shastha Kavu. One specimen was collected at Vadakara, Calicut District. The specimens from Kasaragod and Vadakara were found in small rock crevices and on the brick walls of an old abandoned house respectively.