May 16, 2016
Sawflies and wood wasps form a
group of insects that feed mainly on plants when immature. Field work by Dr.
Michael Skvarla, which was conducted during his Ph.D. research at the
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, USA, has uncovered 30 species of these
plant-feeding wasps that were previously unknown in the state. The study is
published it in the open access journal Biodiversity Data Journal.
After collecting sawflies in
tent-like Malaise traps or hanging
funnel traps, Dr. Michael Skvarla sent the specimens to
retired sawfly expert Dr. David Smith for identification.
In total, 47 species were
collected, 30 of which had not been found in Arkansas before. While many of the
species are widespread in eastern North America, eight species were known only
from areas hundreds of kilometers away.
"I knew that many insect
groups had not yet been surveyed in Arkansas, but I was surprised that 66% of
the sawfly species we found were new to the state," Skvarla says.
"In addition, over a quarter
of the newly recorded species represent large range extensions of hundreds of
miles; Monophadnoides conspiculatus, for
instance, was previously known only from the Appalachian Mountains. This work
highlights how much basic natural history is left to discover about insects."
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