Vulgichneumon saturatorius

Vulgichneumon saturatorius
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Suborder: Apocrita
Superfamily: Ichneumonoidea
Family: Ichneumonidae
Subfamily: Ichneumoninae
Genus: Vulgichneumon
Species: V. saturatorius
Binomial name
Vulgichneumon saturatorius
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Vulgichneumon saturatorius is a parasitoid wasp in the ichneumonid family.[1]

Description

This is one of many quite similar species. The adult is mainly black, with reddish brown legs, a white spot on top of the thorax between the wing bases, and a white tip to the abdomen. The antennae are long and dark with a white middle section.[2] V. bimaculatus is similar but with black legs. Some species of Ichneumon and Virgichneumon have similar general appearance.[3]

Distribution

The species is recorded widely across Europe from Ireland,[4] England and Spain in the west, Norway, Sweden and Finland in the north, as far south as Sicily and Sardinia, and east into Romania, Turkey, Ukraine, Russia, and into Asia with records from Kazakhstan and Pakistan.[1][5] It may be poorly recorded with a wider distribution.[2]

Behaviour and ecology

The species is found in woods and hedges, between April and September (in England). It drinks nectar from flowers of hogweed. The larvae are parasitoids of the caterpillar larvae of the 'Silver Y' moth Autographa gamma and perhaps other species.[2]

Taxonomy and subspecies

The species was named as Ichneumon saturatorius by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae in 1758.

A named subspecies is Vulgichneumon saturatorius albivalvus (Uchida, 1926).

References

  1. 1 2 "Vulgichneumon saturatorius". EOL. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  2. 1 2 3 "Vulgichneumon saturatorius". Nature Spot. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  3. ↑ "Ichneumonidae: Subfamily Ichneumoninae Tribe Ichneumonini". Commanster. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  4. ↑ "Vulgichneumon saturatorius (Linnaeus, 1758)". Species.ie. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  5. ↑ "Vulgichneumon saturatorius (Linnaeus 1758)". Taxapad.com. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
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