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| Parasitised Aphid |
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| Aphidius sp possible matricariae |
Saturday, 22 June 2013
Aphidius parasitic wasps
A few days ago I found what looked like an obese aphid sat on a bramble leaf. Since then these odd looking things have become increasingly common with several on nettles yesterday. I found out that it was to do with parasitic wasps. Yesterday I caught a couple and attempted to make an identification. Keying out wasn't possible on all of the 29 species of parasitic wasp on aphids but I did find a match with Aphidius matricariae.
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What keys do you use? I would like to get hold of them as not aware of good brachonid keys myself.18 sp of Aphidius in GB so really impressive to get one to species.
ReplyDeleteHi David,
ReplyDeleteMuch of it has been piecing together scraps of information on the internet. I started by getting the checklist of British species which I guess you may have. The rest came from two sources:
http://dare.uva.nl/cgi/arno/show.cgi?fid=150389 which confirmed the family and then an Iranian key which had several British species: http://www.insectscience.org/12.143/index.html. When finding a match I googled the species and found other matching specimens.
I see many of these braconids in the field so making the effort to become familiar with these seems worth the painstaking effort. I am in the process of gathering more data on these so if any more information comes to light that throws doubt on my ID I may have to revise my decision but for now I'm happy with the ID.
Paul
That really sounds a very unsafe identification process. Why not just call it "Aphidius species, possibly matricariae"? Then you're not misleading anybody, not populating the internet with misidentified images and are safeguarding your reputation as a careful naturalist?
ReplyDeleteI should say that I know sod all about Parasitica - only enough to know that they are best left to the specialists.
Right, Remember most of those internet images will have been named in a similar way and are probably just stabs in the dark. Also, if you are doing the 1000 in 1kmsq, you are asked to submit records to local BRC, so identifications need to be of a high standard. Insects should be identified to the same standards you would for birds.
ReplyDeleteOK that's good advise Mark I'll amend the post.
ReplyDeleteRegarding submission of records there won't be any. The reason for signing up for the 1000for1kmsq was to have an incentive to learn more about the nature I walk past when out on my patch. I've only submitted Mecinus collaris by request and this was confirmed by 3 experts.
Paul
Good stuff Paul, if you want to get expert help with your braconid, you could try Gavin Broad at the Natural History Museum. If he can't help, he'll surely be able to pass you on to someone who can.
ReplyDeleteI've just heard back from a specialist in Belgium who has said that it wasn't possible to make a certain ID from the photos but the animal was most likely to be Aphidius ervi.
ReplyDeletePaul