1. DISTRIBUTION
Pimpla turionellae is a common wasp that can be found across the Netherlands [2].
2. BEHAVIOUR
2.1. ACTIVITY
The species is active from May to October [4].
2.2. DEVELOPEMENT
The species has two generations per year [4] and overwinters possibly sometimes as adult [4].
3. PARASITIC RELATIONS
P. turionellae is an idiobiont endoparasitoid [7] on butterflies and moths, hunting on smaller to middle-large pupae, in cocoons and sometimes bare, from the following species occuring in the Netherlands [4]:
| COSMOPTERIGIDAE | –Limnaecia phragmitella |
| DEPRESSARIIDAE | –Depressaria radiella |
| PYRALIDAE | –Acrobasis consociella –Ephestia kuehniella [6] –Galleria mellonella[6] |
| PYRIDAE | –Pieris rapae [6] |
| TORTRICIDAE | –Cydia pomonella –Rhyacionia buoliana –Tortrix viridana |
| YPONOMEUTIDAE | –Yponomeuta cagnagella –Yponomeuta evonymella –Yponomeuta malinellus [5,6] |
| YPSOLOPHIDAE | –Ypsolopha vittella |
I’ve observed the species on a nest of Apple ermine (Yponomeuta malinellus), see here.
The following hosts have been observed in the garden:
| Whites (PYRIDAE) | –Small white (Pieris rapae) |
| Ermine moths (YPONOMEUTIDAE) | –Apple ermine (Yponomeuta malinellus) |
4. IDENTIFICATION
It is a middle large wasp.
Characteristics of the genus [3,4]:
1. Front wing vein 2m-cu with two bullae
2. Front wing vein 3rs-m present, not pigmented
3. Ovipositor straight
4. Hind tarsus segment 2 about as long as segment 5
5. Face black
6. Eyes weakly concave just above the antenna implant
7. Antennae slender
8. Antennae not subclavate (slightly enlarged at the end), often attenuate apically
8. Antenna flagellum segment 2 at least 3x longer than wide
Characteristics of the species [4]:
Females
1. Hind coxa black
2. Face black with light hairs, whitish or sometimes light yellow
3. Space between rear ocelli is about 2x the space between ocelle and edge eye
4. Mesopleuron centrally densely punctuated, space between punctures about the diameter of the puncture
5. Pronotum often with yellow stripe on rear corner
6. Length ratio ovipositor : hind tibia = 0.9 – 1.1
Males
1. Face black with whitish hairs
2. Space between rear ocelli is about 2x the space between ocelle and edge eye
References
1 Nederlands Soortenregister2 Waarneming.nl
3 BROAD, Gavin. Identification key to the subfamilies of Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera). Natural History Museum, London, 2011.
4 FITTON, Michael Geoffrey, et al. Pimpline ichneumon-flies. Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae (Pimplinae). Pimpline ichneumon-flies. Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae (Pimplinae)., 1988, 7.1.
5 KOLAROV, JANKO. A catalogue of the Turkish Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera). Entomofauna.
6 KANSU, I. A., et al. Investigations into the biological relationships between Pimpla turionellae (L.)(Hym.-Ichneumonidae) and some lepidopterous pupae hosts. Doğa Bilim Dergisi, 1984, 8.2: 160-173.
7 Uçkan, Fevzi & Si̇nan, S. & Savaşçi, Ş & Ergi̇n, E.. (2009). Determination of Venom Components from the Endoparasitoid Wasp Pimpla turionellae L. (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 97. 775-780. 10.1603/0013-8746(2004)097[0775:DOVCFT]2.0.CO;2.
