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The advent of citizen science, the free availability of information and literature, and even social media, have greatly advanced our knowledge on insect fauna in the Low Countries. However, this information is often dispersed and does not always end up being reported in entomological literature. With this paper we want to close this gap for Ichneum...
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... In 1829, Gravenhorst published a three-volume monograph on the Darwin wasps of Europe. Since then, species numbers have increased, the knowledge of their taxonomy has improved, and efforts are now being made to compile national inventories (Broad 2016;Klopfstein et al. 2019a;Verheyde et al. 2021;Varga 2024). With their help, the large-scale distribution of species in Europe can be depicted in more detail than Gravenhorst was able to do. ...
A wide range of data was compiled from literature, insect collections and citizen science data with the aim to create an initial and preliminary regional checklist of Ichneumonid wasps for Southern Lower Saxony. In total, 1811 records of 876 Ichneumonid species were found, including 260 unpublished species records. The records originate from the last two centuries, two thirds being made in the last 90 years. The majority of data was collected by renowned Ichneumonid experts like Carl Gravenhorst, Erich Bauer and Rolf Hinz, but also by other scientists conducting surveys on ecological topics. Based on the compiled data, six Darwin wasp species could be added to the German Darwin wasp list, namely: Camposcopus ruficoxis (Schnee and Shaw, in prep.), Coleocentrus soleatus (Gravenhorst, 1829), Netelia contiguator Delrio, 1975, Netelia silvahercynia Theunert, 2021, Proclitus heterocerus (Thomson, 1888) and Tycherus acutus (Gravenhorst, 1829). It can be assumed that the communities of Darwin wasps in the two main natural regions in Southern Lower Saxony, the Weser-Leine Uplands and Harz Mountains, differ in their composition, but this cannot be confirmed with certainty due to the low resolution and the different scope of the data. Apart from poorly studied locations, future surveys should focus on under-sampled habitats and include unrevised material to expand this regional checklist and give detailed information on habitat associations of Darwin wasp species.
... Therefore, the retention of these complex behaviors when they are not needed is not particularly surprising within the clade. (Howard 1892;Nielsen 1923;Townes and Townes 1960;Manuel 1976;Vincent 1979;Hudson 1988;Tormos et al. 2004;Deyrup et al. 2004;Finch 2005;Shaw 2006;Miller et al. 2013;Fritzén and Fjellberg 2014;Gadallah and El-Hennawy 2017;Korenko et al. 2017;Korenko and Di Giovanni 2019;Barrantes et al. 2019;Eberhard and Gonzaga 2019;Sobczak et al. 2019;Takasuka 2019;Miliczky et al. 2020;Pádua and Kloss 2020;Verheyde et al. 2021;Villanueva-Bonilla et al. 2021;Takasuka 2021;Santos-Murgas et al. 2022;Gonzaga et al. 2022;Korenko et al. 2022a;Korenko et al. 2022b;Barrantes et al. 2022;Pereira et al. 2022). In 10 of such interactions, it was observed that parasitoid cocoons develop inside leaf shelters. ...
Behavioral modifications induced by parasites have been extensively documented across multiple taxa. However, a major challenge is to experimentally determine whether such manipulations confer an adaptive advantage to the parasite. Behavioral alterations in spiders attacked by ichneumonid wasps are characterized by the construction of modified webs. These modified webs can enhance the survival chances of the parasitoid by reducing mortality due to natural enemies and environmental factors during the pupal stage. Additionally, some modified webs offer extra protection by keeping a centrally attached leaf shelter, originally used by the spider as a refuge, where parasitoids can build their cocoon. In these webs, it is possible that web modifications are not critical for the survival of parasitoid pupae. We evaluated the hypothesis that modifications made by parasitized spiders in a web with leaf shelter do not improve the survival of the parasitoid and presented details of behavioral modifications induced by the wasp Zatypota alborhombarta (Ichneumonidae) in its host spider Cryptachaea migrans (Theridiidae). We observed that modified webs built by parasitized spiders had silk thread around the web shelter, reduced vertical lines, and an increase in forked distal ends of lines. However, these changes in the host web did not improve the survival of parasitoid pupae. Our results indicate that the benefits of host behavioral modification for the parasitoids may vary across different host species. In addition, we suggested that the effects of altered web designs may depend on specific host-created web features and environmental factors like predation pressure.
Significance statement
Behavioral manipulations of hosts induced by parasites are often suggested as an adaptive trait, increasing the fitness of the parasitic organism. Still, the influence of host characteristics on the parasite’s fitness is rarely experimentally assessed, raising questions about the extent of the adaptive nature of manipulation. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that behavioral modifications induced by Ichneumonidae wasps in a cobweb spider do not increase the survival of the parasitoids. We argue that the presence of shelters in these webs, used by parasitoids in their pupal stages, provides a safe environment for development, independent of other modifications. Furthermore, we suggest that the behavioral modification reflects the maintenance of a phylogenetically conserved trait.
This paper deals with faunistic surveys on Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera) of Iran. In total, 18 species in eight subfamilies are recorded as new for the fauna of the country: Anomaloninae (one species), Banchinae (three species), Campopleginae (three species), Ctenopelmatinae (two species), Metopiinae (one species), Orthocentrinae (three species), Phygadeuontinae (two species), and Tryphoninae (three species).
