Xorides brachylabis (Kriechbaumer, 1889)

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 : 129-130

Xorides brachylabis (Kriechbaumer, 1889) (Fig. 70 A–B)

Xorides brachylabis can be distinguished from other species within the genus by the absence of a subapical tooth on the anterior side of the fore trochantellus. Furthermore, the pterostigma is narrow, with the length of RS + 2r being at least 3.5× as long as its breadth. The fore tibiae are swollen and wider than the mid femora. Generally, the fore and mid coxae and trochanters are yellow, while the hind coxae and femora are mostly red (Fig. 70 A). Finally, the females are finely and evenly rugosely punctate on their first tergite and their inner orbits are widely white-striped (GAULD & FITTON, 1981; VARGA, 2014; Fig. 70 B). The species is genuinely rare. Known hosts are Tetropium spp. , notably Tetropium gabrieli Weise, 1905 ( Coleoptera : Cerambycidae ) for our first locality/finding on larch ( YU et al., 2012). This beetle species is primarily known from the eastern part of Belgium ( MUYLAERT, 1984). The surprisingly low density of larches on our first Belgian locality strongly suggests the ichneumonid and its host T. gabrieli have been overlooked for many decades and/or have only recently arrived, especially in Wallonia where dense larch-forests are more common.

First report for Belgium and the Netherlands.

MATERIAL EXAMINED:

BELGIUM: • 1 ♀; Zillebeke , De Vierlingen (WVL); 50°49’10”N 2°56’08”E; 24/vi/2019; F. Verheyde leg.; coll. FV; field observation on Larix sp. ; O. Varga & F. Verheyde det. (ObsID: 175085077); Fig. 70A-B . • 1 ♀; Retie , Looiendse Bergen (AN); 51°15’52”N 5°03’14”E; 8/v/2020; N. Van Loco leg.; field observation on Picea abies ; F. Verheyde det. (ObsID: 191232266) . • 1 ♀; Mol , Vito bossen en De Bleken (AN); 51°12’53”N 5°04’00”E; 19/vii/2020; J. De Witte leg.; field observation on Picea abies ; F. Verheyde det. (ObsID: 196672069) .

THE NETHERLANDS: • 1 ♀; Eerbeek (GE); 52°05’57”N 6°04’26”E; 12/viii/2019; H. Cuppen leg.; field observation; F. Verheyde det. (ObsID: 177926651) .