Worcestershire Record No. 16 April 2004 pp. 26-27

Mike Bloxham

In the wake of last year’s article (Worcestershire Record No 15 November 2003 pages 43-44), readers will be already acquainted with the Wyre Forest Study Group initiative on these insects. At present steady progress can be reported on at least three fronts. Firstly, our professional support (Dr Mark Shaw & Dr. Gavin Broad) is working steadily on checking my initial identifications of Jeff Rush’s 2003 light trap material from Worcestershire. Secondly, those with an interest in having a go in this difficult area of study are still on board (I think!). Finally, we look like having enough support for another Wyre Forest Entomology study day in October/ November when people can bring all sorts of light trap catches from this season’s work along with anything else of interest

We are also indebted to our professionals as they add to our supply of recent literature on parasitic ichneumonoid wasps. Additionally it is hoped that new check lists will be available in the near future and this will please users of RECORDER and Mapmate packages. At present a considerable amount of the taxonomy is unreliable and urgently needs an update to give recorders a chance to enhance the structure and precision of their reports.

It is always nice to give a reliable list of finds (even if it is small!), so here are some of Gavin Broad & Mark Shaw’s confirmed records.

Notes:

Bathythrix prominens looks to be an uncommon insect and, together with some other recent Shrawley light trap finds, adds to that site’s reputation as an important wildlife resource. Thymaris tener also falls into this category and its presence in light traps on two separate sites adds to the evidence for it being a nocturnal species (although it does not seem to be formally recognised as one in literature elsewhere). The genus Perilissus is currently being studied by Gavin Broad and we are indebted to him both for identifying P. pallidus (incorrectly as ‘pallipes’ in my article for the Wyre Forest Study Group Review 2003) and detecting that the second specimen on the plastazote strip was a different species - Perilissus albitarsis. Some representatives of the genus are regular visitors to light traps. Readers of the ‘Review’ are also alerted to the fact that Syspasis lineator was misidentified, being correctly named Coelichneumon leucocerus (see table).

The only braconid on the list, Aleiodes compressor, has an interestingly flattened abdomen with a main abdominal suture allowing almost no abdominal flexing between segments because of these are united by development of rigid carinae. The species, together with this phenomenon, is illustrated for this article Figure 2. (Drawing copyright M Bloxham).

The foregoing reminds anyone working on the group of the need for care in determining species and the vital importance of keeping reference specimens. These may best be glued to card points for inspection or simply pinned where large species are involved. A number of species named here probably target Lepidoptera and general priority must also be attached to discovering more about life histories. All Lepidopterists are urged to support the group (and especially Mark Shaw, who has devoted much of his career to throwing light on parasitoid life histories) in retaining & breeding out parasitised larvae/pupae.