Their observation is rare. Parasitic wasps are much less well-known than their black-and-yellow-striped relatives and are significantly smaller, but they are nevertheless crucial to ecology. The recent discovery of 16 new species in Vietnam is germinating seeds in the hope of expanding knowledge about this family of hymenoptera. Here’s what you should remember from the study published in September 2023 in the European Journal of Taxonomy.
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What does the study teach us?
Researchers from Kyushu University and the Vietnam National Museum of Nature conducted research in the highlands of the Asian country. In these vast forests they discovered 16 new species of Loboscelidia. Discovered 150 years ago, this insect genus is the dominant insect genus in the Hymenoptera family. However, their functionality remains relatively poorly documented. This new discovery causes the number of scientifically recognized species to explode by more than 30% (67).
The researchers also examined the behavior of a female of the new species Loboscelidia squamosa. This egg killer wasp destroyed an insect egg to replace it with one of its own. She then buried the parasitized egg in a hole she had dug. This type of behavior is anything but an isolated incident. Previous studies had already highlighted this specific characteristic of solitary female wasps.
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What do we know about parasitic wasps?
To imagine the size of an insect from the Loboscelidia family, you have to take a chocolate chip incorporated into a cake. With a size of 2 to 5 millimeters, the wasp is harmless to humans, unlike its European cousin Vespula germanica with its painful stings. However, their small size does not reflect their importance in regulating the ecosystem.
“They act like parasites of other insects,” explained Professor Toshiharu Mita, lead author of the study, on the Kyushu University website. “They lay their eggs in the body or eggs of their host and do not kill them.” Flies and mosquitoes are just some of the animals they kill. By paralyzing their host, they ensure its development. In total they can lay 400 to 600 eggs.
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