A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Extensive sampling reveals the phenology and habitat use of Afrotropical parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Rhyssinae)
Authors: Hopkins T, Roininen H, Sääksjärvi IE
Publisher: ROYAL SOC
Publication year: 2019
Journal: Royal Society Open Science
Journal name in source: ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
Journal acronym: ROY SOC OPEN SCI
Article number: ARTN 190913
Volume: 6
Issue: 8
Number of pages: 13
ISSN: 2054-5703
eISSN: 2054-5703
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.190913
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/42112350
Tropical invertebrates, such as the ichneumonids of tropical forests, are poorly known. Here, we report the first results of extensive sampling at Kibale National Park, Uganda, by providing some of the first tropical ecological data for the ichneumonid subfamily Rhyssinae. We sampled ichneumonids with 34 Malaise traps for a year in 10 sites, in habitats ranging from primary forest to farmland. We also gathered weather and vegetation data. The total sampling effort was 373 trap months and we caught 444 rhyssines in six species. We caught the most rhyssines in dry weather, and towards the end of the sampling year. The rhyssines showed a clear preference for decaying logs and for primary forest. We fitted a model which can be used to predict future catches at the site, and draw conclusions on when rhyssines emerge and on their adult lifespan. Sampling extensively gave us a wealth of ecological data on a poorly known parasitoid wasp subfamily. We recommend that future tropical sampling collect ecological data, and that existing data from previous large-scale surveys be used for ecological analyses.
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