Polysphincta boops

Polysphincta boops is a species belonging to the family Ichneumonidae subfamily Pimplinae.^[2]

Polysphincta boops
Polysphincta boops – female
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Ichneumonidae
Genus:	Polysphincta
Species:	P. boops
Binomial name
Polysphincta boops Tschek, 1868
Synonyms
Polysphincta eltshaninovi Shestakov, 1927[1]

Distribution and habitat

This species is present in Europe.^[3] These insects are mostly arboreal. They inhabit trees and bushes in a wide range of areas.

Description

The adults of Polysphincta boops grow up to 8–11 millimetres (0.31–0.43 in) long, with an ovipositor of 4.3–5 millimetres (0.17–0.20 in). They are among the largest species in the Polysphincta genus-group in Europe. They are characterised by a black body, with yellow scutellum, postscutellum, mandibles and legs. Females show a very long ovipositor.

Biology

This wasp parasitizes exclusively adults of spiders (Araniella species, mainly Araniella cucurbitina and Araniella opisthographa).^[4][5] When the egg deposited by the females hatches, larvae feed on the spiders' hemolymph. These insects overwinter as a small larva on their host.

Bibliography

• Oleksandr Varga, Alexey Reshchikov (2014) - New records of the genus Polysphincta Gravenhorst, 1829 (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae) from the Oriental region.
• Niclas Fritzén, Mark Shaw On the spider parasitoids Polysphincta longa Kasparyan and P. boops Tschek (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Pimplinae), with the first host records of P. longa