Ophion obscuratus

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Ophion obscuratus
Parasitic wasp Ophion obscuratus

Parasitic wasp Ophion obscuratus

Systematics
Family : Wasps (Ichneumonidae)
Subfamily : Ophioninae
Genre : Ophion
Type : Ophion obscuratus
Scientific name
Ophion obscuratus
Fabricius , 1798
Ophion obscuratus - side view

Ophion obscuratus is a parasitic wasp from the subfamily of the Ophioninae .

features

The 15-22 mm large, long and slender parasitic wasps with forewing lengths of 11 mm and more are orange to orange-brown in color without any black markings with more or less extensive, variable yellow markings. On the upper side of the thorax there is a characteristic pattern of yellow longitudinal stripes connected with transverse stripes. The black eyes of Ophion obscuratus are framed in white behind. The long antennae and legs are also colored orange. The species has the characteristic, rich wing veins of the Ichneumonidae. In the clear (never yellowish tinted) fore wing, as with all Ophioninae, the areola is missing, a characteristic small wing cell below the radial cell. On the front edge of the wing there is an orange-red wing mark or pterostigma that tapers at the front and back. These tips are whitish in color. The identification key of the National History Museum can be used to identify the species.

A more precise determination is difficult. Typical characteristics for the genus Ophion are: In the front wing there is only one cross artery between radial artery rs and medial artery m, which always opens distally (towards the wing tip) of the cross artery 2m-cu. The disco submarginal cell (the large wing cell below the wing mark) is extended outwards ("horse head-shaped"), it never has a sclerite inside. The wing vein Rs + 2r (which starts below the wing mark) goes almost in a straight line, not at a clear angle from it. Clear eye keels are pronounced on the head , its mandibles are almost equally wide and not narrowed towards the tip. The mesopleurs (laterally seated sclerites) do not have a small, blunt button-shaped protrusion on the lower edge of the trunk. The first tergite of the free abdomen does not have any glyms, these are longitudinal furrows on the side. His stigma is in the back half. The species can be distinguished from most other species of the genus in Central Europe by its coloration (see above). From Ophion forticornis for example, distinguishes the antenna breakdown, the antenna scourge of long antennae has at O.obscuratus more than 51 members, at O.forticornis is less than 50. This rare species is reported mainly from sand dunes.

The species has several generations per year, which are very variable and differ from one another. In autumn, for example, two distinguishable forms appear next to each other, which differ noticeably in body size and have a different number of flagella limbs of the antennae. According to genetic data, it seems possible that several cryptospecies are hidden under the species name .

Occurrence

Ophion obscuratus is widespread in the Palearctic and Oriental . It occurs all over Europe including the British Isles and the Mediterranean basin and Turkey, from here eastwards over India to China, Japan and Korea. It is considered widespread in the UK and common everywhere.

Way of life

The adult parasitic wasps feed on flower nectar. They are crepuscular and nocturnal and are regularly attracted by artificial light sources . Your flight time covers almost the whole year, with a break in summer (June and July). Ophion obscuratus is mainly caught in spring and autumn, but is one of the few parasitic wasp species that, in both sexes, can be active in flight all winter if the weather is suitable. Like all Ophioninae the species is a solitary, koinobionter endoparasitoid of caterpillars; This means that only one parasitic wasp larva parasitizes in each caterpillar, which grows inside the mobile host that lives on after oviposition until it finally kills it in the last stage. It parasitizes on caterpillars of owl butterflies (Noctuidae) without showing any particular preference for certain species or caterpillar stages. The coal owl ( Mamestra brassicae ) is mentioned as one of the main host species.

Taxonomy and systematics

The subfamily Ophioninae comprises 32 genera, predominantly yellow-brown, nocturnal parasitic wasp species, and its distribution center is in the tropics. In contrast, the species-rich genus Ophion is found worldwide, predominantly in cooler climates; in addition to the Palearctic and Nearctic, it also occurs in the mountains of the tropics. Their monophyly, in contrast to that of the subfamily, is doubtful. 79 species of the genus are distributed in the Palearctic. 16 of them are in the UK. It forms the obscuratus species group with a number of similar Palearctic and Nearctic species . The group includes numerous species, some of which are morphologically very similar, so that many species that are still undescribed are assumed. Your monophyly is unsecured.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Nicola Prehn, Chris Raper: Beginner's guide to identifying British ichneumonids. compiled by the Natural History Museum's Angela Marmont Center for UK Biodiversity. (PDF)
  2. ↑ Gavin R. Broad: Keys for the identification of British and Irish nocturnal Ichneumonidae. In: Nocturnal Ichneumonoidea of ​​the British Isles Recording Scheme. July 27, 2016 PDF download
  3. ↑ a b c J. P. Brock: A systematic study of the genus Ophion in Britain (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae). In: Tijdschrift voor Entomologie. 125, 1982, pp. 57-97. online at biostor.org
  4. ↑ a b Pascal Rousse, Donald LJ Quicke, Conrad A. Matthee, Pierre Lefeuvre, Simon van Noort: A molecular and morphological reassessment of the phylogeny of the subfamily Ophioninae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). In: Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 178, 2016, pp. 128–148. doi: 10.1111 / zoj.12405
  5. ↑ Ophion obscuratus. In: Dicky Sick Ki Yu: catalog of world Ichneumonidae online. 1997-2012.
  6. ↑ www.cabi.org
  7. ^ Marla D. Schwarzfeld, Gavin R. Broad, Felix AH Sperling: Molecular phylogeny of the diverse parasitoid wasp genus Ophion Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Ophioninae). In: Systematic Entomology. 41 (1), 2015, pp. 191-206. doi: 10.1111 / syen.12152

Web links

Commons : Ophion obscuratus  - collection of images, videos and audio files