Orthizema amabile (Hedwig, 1939)

Verheyde, Fons, Hoekstra, Paul, Libert, Pierre-Nicolas, Meijer, Hilco, Ketelaere, Augustijn De, Vandaudenard, Thibaud, Belgers, Dick & Brosens, Edwin, 1880, Two hundred and five ichneumonid wasps reported for the first time in Belgium and the Netherlands (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), Belgian Journal of Entomology 122, pp. 1-142 : 97-98

Orthizema amabile (Hedwig, 1939) (Fig. 49)

Orthizema spp. are closely related to Theroscopus spp. Therefore, both genera were treated together in the key by SCHWARZ & SHAW (2011). The females of Orthizema spp. have a frons and mesoscutum that is entirely and distinctly granulate. Their ovipositor is slender and the area superomedia of the propodeum is at least 1.2× as long as wide. The lower margin of their clypeus usually has no teeth and the antennae often have a white ring.

The females of O. amabile are brachypterous and can be keyed with HORSTMANN, 1993. Their colouration is remarkable (Fig. 49): the mesosoma is red brownish, just like the first two tergites. The metasoma is black apically, but the last tergite has a yellowish to white band. The antennae are tricoloured (orange-black-white-black). The third antennal segment measures 2.8x its width, apical third 0.8x its width. This species appears to be (very) rare, with a limited amount of reports in Western Europe. Possibly this is due to the species’ ecology (next to its size of 2.5 to 3.5 mm). Our specimen was found while raking the soil, the observer searching certain species of Heteroptera. First report for the Netherlands; unreported in Belgium.

MATERIAL EXAMINED:

THE NETHERLANDS: • 1 ♀; Den Helder , Fort Dirksz Admiraal (NH); 52°56’19”N 4°45’34”E; 7/v/2020; M. Renden leg.; field observation; M. Schwarz det. (ObsID: 190741367); Fig. 49 .