Aussie wasp on the hunt for redback spiders
ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide researchers say a small native wasp that scientists had forgotten about for more than 200 years is now making a name for itself - as a predator of ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥'s most common dangerous spider, the redback.
The wasp (Agenioideus nigricornis) was first described scientifically in 1775 by Danish entomologist Johan Christian Fabricius, thanks to samples collected in ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ during Captain Cook's first great voyage (1768-1771).
[caption id="attachment_4441" align="alignleft" width="210"] A redback spider-hunting wasp dragging its paralysed prey back to its nest
Photo by Florian and Peter Irwin.[/caption]
"Since then, scientists have largely forgotten about the wasp," says from the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide's . "It is widespread across ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ and can be found in a number of collections, but until now we haven't known the importance of this particular species."
The wasp is now being dubbed the "redback spider-hunting wasp" after a family in Beaconsfield, Western ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥, discovered one of them with a paralysed redback spider in their back yard.
The wasp (Agenioideus nigricornis) was first described scientifically in 1775 by Danish entomologist Johan Christian Fabricius, thanks to samples collected in ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ during Captain Cook's first great voyage (1768-1771).
[caption id="attachment_4441" align="alignleft" width="210"] A redback spider-hunting wasp dragging its paralysed prey back to its nest
Photo by Florian and Peter Irwin.[/caption]
"Since then, scientists have largely forgotten about the wasp," says from the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide's . "It is widespread across ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ and can be found in a number of collections, but until now we haven't known the importance of this particular species."
The wasp is now being dubbed the "redback spider-hunting wasp" after a family in Beaconsfield, Western ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥, discovered one of them with a paralysed redback spider in their back yard.
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