By Tim Sandle 1 hour ago in Environment .
Researchers found two new types of parasitoid wasps with stand-out body features in the the Swiss Alps and Swiss Central Plateau. The discovery came about by chance.
The discovery was made by Hannes Baur from the Natural History Museum Bern. Naur found wasps with unique body structures — on investigation he has determined they are different species. The two new wasp species are members of the Pteromalus genus of parasitoids.
One wasp has been named Pteromalus briani and the other Pteromalus janstai.
In terms of what is different:
P. janstai wasp has an unusually depressed middle part of the body. The reason for this flattened section is unknown.
P. briani wasp has protruding hind legs, which look very different to all other wasps. The legs are described as abruptly expanding. While some male wasps have slightly shorter expanding legs, the legs in both the male and female wasps of this species show legs of a marked protrusion. It is thought that the legs have some function in mating.
There is a vast array of parastioid wasps in the world. These wasps range from some of the smallest species of insects, to wasps that are about an inch long. The wasps are called “parastioid” because they lay their eggs on other animals. The larvae, on hatching, then proceed to feed on the host. The most is normally kept alive until the larvae are ready to pupate. It is at this stage that the host is killed, no longer serving any worthwhile purpose. Sometimes the wasps, before laying eggs, inject a chemical into the host, so that it becomes a ready receptacle for the eggs.
An example is Hymenoepimecis argyraphaga, found in Costa Rica. The wasp uses spiders as the host for its eggs and uses chemicals to make the spiders a willing slave.
The discovery has been documented in the journal ZooKeys. The research paper is headed “Pushing the limits – two new species of Pteromalus (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Pteromalidae) from Central Europe with remarkable morphology.”
Read more:
http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/environment/two-new-parasitic-wasps-found-in-central-europe/article/439566#ixzz3hDf2IxOH
