An insect specialist has discovered a new species of stingless wasp in the countryside near his home.
Dr Andrew Polaszek, who works as a researcher in the entomology department of the Natural History Museum in London, said he found the tiny parasitic wasp on a tree in the grounds of a primary school in Sevenoaks.
The 1mm (0.04ins) female Encarsia aleurochitonis does not sting but is a parasite that lays its eggs in the live bodies of whitefly. The larvae eat the host from inside until they emerge as adult wasps.
“When I found the white flies attacked like that, to my amazement the wasps emerged a few days later,” Dr Polaszek said.
“The species has never been discovered in Britain before. It is a very specialised area and I knew this species from northern Europe.”
He said that the species of wasp had been living in the UK for quite a long time but had just not been discovered before.
“When people think of wasps they think of a big, unpleasant aggressive insect but the majority of wasp around the world and there are about 120,000 the majority are small and aggressive,” he said.
“It is actually beneficial because they kill other insects that are pests to horticulture and agriculture. They are providing an ecosystem service and a few of them are used commercially to control pest insects.”
Watching the wasps emerge from their decimated hosts can look quite “horrific”, Dr Polaszek said, but they are providing valuable service and keeping the environment balanced.
He came across the species after taking samples of white fly from trees in the ground of Sevenoaks County Primary School in Bradbourne Park Road during the summer.
Dr Polaszek said he expected the species was much more widespread and would be looking out for them again next summer.
POSTED: 26/10/2009 08:59:10
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