First record of the parasitoid wasp Tachinaephagus zealandicus Ashmead, 1904 (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Encyrtidae) in Germany

摘要

The first record of the parasitoid wasp Tachinaephagus zealandicus from Germany is presented. A total of twelve specimens were reared from a puparium of Lucilla sp. (Diptera: Calliphoridae), collected from compost in Ingelheim am Rhein (Rhineland-Palatinate). While probably originating from Australia, the species is now cosmopolitan with numerous records from all continents. Its hosts are mainly synanthropic flies, and it has been repeatedly used as biological control agent. Given its synanthropy andits uniqueness as one of very few encyrtid species that parasitize fly puparia, it is unlikely that it has been overlooked in the past. It is, however, unknown where it comes from and why it appears now for the first time. This perplexity demonstrates the need for more thorough studies on parasitoid wasps and other notoriously understudied taxa. Currently, monitoring appearance of invasive species and other potentially influencing faunal changes still relies mostly on chance findings. A combination oflarge DNA barcoding and collecting initiatives such as GBOL and digital accessibility of zoological collection data could help improving this problematic situation in the future.