Megastigmus rosae - Female

When posted on the forum of waarneming.nl Paul Hoekstra recognized this as probably Megastigmus nigrovariegatus - a new species for the Netherlands. Final ID pending, awaiting microscopic examination :o)
The verdict is in! Sandrine Ulenberg kindly took it upon her to ID our wasps and found that this "new" Megastigmus is Megastigmus rosae Bouček, 1971. Even so, still a new species for the Netherlands! :o)

comments (4)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

Is this an example of some insect species migrating north due to rising temperatures? Posted 5 years ago
1. Pudding4brains
  
  Lion
  
  Ehrmm ... this one is a bit more complex. It's originally a North-American species but it has been recorded in south-central and southeastern France since around the beginning of this century. Now we've found it in a garden in Drenthe and I found an image on waarneming by Dick Belgers who recorded one in his house (unidentified at the time) from somewhere around Wageningen, august last year, I think.
  
  So, obviously introduce by mankind (unintentionally) to France about two decades ago and I think it is fair to assume that it has spread from there on its own wings. Probably present at much more locations in Europe but it's quite small, so not surprisingly not readily recorded, I suppose. Posted 5 years ago, modified 5 years ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    Thanks for the excellent answer! Posted 5 years ago
  2. 1. Pudding4brains
      
      Lion
      
      Minor correction: A publication published in 2003 mentions that it had "recently" been recorded from France, but the specimen listed are actually 1987, 1990 and 1993, so it has been around in Europe since well before the turn of the century. Posted 5 years ago

The Megastigmus rosae

Megastigmus rosae is a Chalcid wasp (Chalcidoidea) of the family Torymidae. The female deposits her eggs in Rose hips and the larvae feed on the seeds inside.

Info 7 0

Similar species: Wasps, Bees, Sawflies And Ants

Species identified by Pudding4brains