Chrysis mirifica Balthasar, 1953 = Chrysis dawahi Strumia in Strumia & Dawah, 2012 syn. nov. Distribution in the Arabian Peninsula: Saudi Arabia (Strumia & Dawah 2012, 2019), United Arab Emirates (Strumia 2014). Extralimital distribution: Palestine (Balthasar 1953). Remarks: Strumia (Strumia & Dawah 2012) placed Chrysis dawahi in the Chrysis succincta species group, despite the fact that some features are clearly opposed to the diagnostic characteristics of this species group. Among other features, the medially striated female scapal basin, the peculiar frontal carina, the black spots on the second sternum that are almost fused together to form a rectangular black spot, and the unusual shape of the last visible tergum, described as “ TIII distal profile is different from all other known species of the group ” are characteristic of the Chrysis exsecata species group. In actuality, Chrysis dawahi is identical to (and therefore a synonym of) Chrysis mirifica Balthasar, 1953, described from Palestine, the type of which, in Balthasar’s collection (Prague, Czech Republic), has been examined.

Published as part of Rosa, Paolo, Gadallah, Neveen S. & Brothers, Denis J., 2020, Biodiversity of the aculeate wasps (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) of the Arabian Peninsula: Chrysidoidea, Chrysididae, pp. 101-121 in Zootaxa 4754 (1) on page 112, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4754.1.10, http://zenodo.org/record/3719022