Beastly goings on in Hertfordshire

[Rossco]

Hello all

Firstly let me say what an excellent site this is. I've only been aware of it for a while, but it's great.

Anyway, I've been going through the photos I've taken this season and I'd like to share some images with you. The first photos I'd like to show were all taken in Wall Wood, which is essentially part of Hatfield Forest on the Herts Essex border.

This is a little photo story and I've posted more information on my blog, which you can find at:
Scrubmuncher's Blog

This photo shows an adult Cionus tuberculatus - nice little, velvety weevils - specialist herbivores on figwort (Scrophularia nodosa) and related plants:


The larvae of these weevils are preyed upon by an elegant wasp - Symmorphus gracilis, which is specialist on these beetles:



Here's a Symmorphus gracilis that has found a Ciounus spp. larva and is preparing to carry it back to its nest - probably a considerable distance on the wing:



If getting chewed a stung by a wasp were not bad enough the Cionus spp. weevils also fall prey to a number of parasitoids, including this specialist - Entedon cionobius:



And this Pteromalus sp. Unfortunately, this photo doesn't do this wasp justice as it was very handsome, albeit small wasp:



Anyway, if you're interested in any of this stuff take a look at my blog as there's loads more information on there.

[JRsbugs]

All very interesting stuff Rossco!

I am fascinated and repulsed at what I am seeing via my macro lens, I have quite an assortment of wasp pics taken this year and have a long way to go (when I get around to it) to try to identify most.

As you seem to know much about these I hope you stay around to help. Have you studied wasps in depth? There are so many and with an apparent lack of info on the internet a lot of these will probably remain anonymous.

Thanks for the look-in!

Janet

[Rossco]

Thanks, Janet

I like most insects, although the beetles and wasps are my favourite as there's always so much going on at a variety of scales. I know enough to know roughly what things are then it's a case of resorting to the specialist literature and/or calling on some of my old contacts from my time in academia.

Some genera of parasitoids , e.g. Pteromalus are very difficult to identify to species level apart from the odd species. Even chalcid experts agree they're exceedingly difficult to identify. I don't think that using morphological characters are enough to be able to identify them. Little has been done on the taxonomy of this group for that reason, but if someone was to look at DNA markers I'm convinced there would be species complexes making things even more complicated in the absence of a handheld PCR machine and DNA sequencer (a long way off yet).

Anyway, let me see some of your pictures when you've been through them. You can send them to ross_piper@yahoo.com.

[Jason Green]

Hi Ross, have I welcomed you yet? If not - welcome to WAB

Well, I have a stack of tiny plain green or black wasps that could do with the eye of someone more experienced than myself! I'll post some up sometime if you wouldn't mind

Take care,

Jason

[JRsbugs]

Thanks Rossco, I will do my best (in the near future!) to sort out some pics and send you some. I have had some very interesting ones this year!

I like most insects too, beetles seem to come bottom of the pile for me though. I'm very interested in flies, wasps and bees, but if it moves (or not as the case may be) it gets snapped!

[Rossco]

Thanks, Jason

Post the images or email them to me (email is in this thread). I don't know how much help I'll be, but I'll take a look for sure.

It's always good to identify the hosts of parasitoids as that can narrow things down a lot - this is where rearing comes in.

Ross