Field note: A Yorkshire first - Listrodomus nychthemerus (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) in Saddleworth, VC63

摘要

My garden contains three mature Holly trees llexaquifolium and also has large stands of mature Ivy Hedera helix, partly to help bees and hoverflies and other late-nectaring insects to feed on the flowers in autumn. This habitat is thus perfect for Holly Blue butterflies Celastrina argiolus as a food and breeding site. I saw the wasp on 31 August 2018 when counting how many Field Digger Wasps Mellinus arvensis were present this year (another regular garden breeder). I thought it a strange-looking Mellinus male but realised something was quite different and took some photographs (see front cover). I did not know then what it was but I was able to determine it from the photographs on the Facebook BWARS (Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Scheme) site as the Ichneumon Listrodomus nychthemerus, which parasitises Holly Blue caterpillars. This insect is quite distinctive and its markings lend to accurate identification from sharp images.