Translated from wildlife warden Erik van der Spek on Texel island today:
Six braconid wasp species new for the Netherlands have been found on Texel
Among animals I collected in the Eierlandse Duinen area in 2018, the Dutch parasitic wasps expert Kees van Achterberg found the wasps: Doryctes heydenii, Doryctes undulatus, Alysia truncator, Epimicta marginalis, Opiognathus pactus and Opius pulicariae as new species for the Dutch fauna.
Braconidae are the second family in size within the parasitic wasps. There are many species, (652 + 6 known species in the Netherlands, but this is at most half of the Dutch species), and few people who study them. …
Braconid wasps use many other insects as hosts; of the six species, both Doryctes species live on beetle larvae in wood and the other four live on fly maggots, especially leaf miners. There are species that are therefore used as biological control agents. Braconid wasps are usually 2-5 mm long and colored red-brown or black.
