Hidden Diversity: When One Wasp Species is Actually 16
A tiny parasitoid wasp species, long considered a generalist with more than 65 different host species, is revealed in a new study to actually comprise at least 16 different species, identical in appearance but genetically distinct.
Is That a Gall Wasp? Now You Can Find Out
A new key to Cynipoidea, a superfamily of at least 3,000 species of wasps, published in the journal Insect Systematics and Diversity, promises to open up new avenues for research on and management of gall wasps and their relatives.
Study Shows Elevation Affects Fly’s Use as Natural Enemy of Invasive Weed
In Nepal, the gall-inducing eupatorium gall fly (Procecidochares utilis) is deployed as a biological control agent against the invasive weed Ageratina adenophora. A new study by researchers at Tribhuvan University and the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Integrated Pest Management shows size and abundance of galls induced by the fly are influenced by elevation, knowledge that can help in fine-tuning P. utilis-based biocontrol efforts.
“Rare” Butterfly Feeds on Oak Galls and Other Non-Nectar Sources
By Ed Ricciuti In an era when reports proliferate about species careening towards extinction, field research by two University of Connecticut (UCONN) entomologists has turned up refreshing news: a subspecies […]