Sunday 27 October 2013

A new species of Drydinid Wasp from South Korea.

Drydinid Wasps (Dryinidae) are small (under 10 mm) solitary Wasps found across the globe. Their larvae are parasitoids (i.e. the develop inside the body of a living host), typically of Leafhoppers and other True Bugs (Hemiptera). Drydinid larvae are unusual in that they often outgrow their hosts, protruding from the host body in a sac-like case. Male adult Drydinids are typical Wasps, but the females often lack wings and resemble Ants.

In a paper published in the journal Zootaxa on 15 March 2013, Chang-Jun Kim and Jong-Wook Lee of the Department of Life-Sciences at Yeungnam University describe a new species of Drydinid Wasp from South Korea, as part of a wider study into Drydinid Wasps of the genus Anteon in South Korea.

The new species is given the name Anteon magnatum, meaning large and wide. Anteon magnatum is a 6.38 mm black and dark brown Drydinid Wasp. As with all members of the genus Anteon, the females are winged and Wasp-like rather than wingless and Ant-like. The species is described from eight specimens, all female, collected from across South Korea.

Anteon magnatum, female in lateral view. Scale bar is 1 mm. Kim & Lee (2013).


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