Ismarus goodrichi (Hymenoptera: Diaprioidea: Ismaridae)
My approach this week will be somewhat different from that of the previous insects of the week. Today we are choosing a species not only for its taxonomic interest but also because of its connection to me.
Before a recent (2018) publication there were no records of the family Ismaridae from the Afrotropical region. So, it was somewhat surprising that during an ongoing survey and inventory project we collected 7 previously undescribed species of the genus Ismarus from Kenya (Ismarus is the type genus of the family Ismaridae). Ismaridae is a small family, presently numbering about 59 species. Although the family is small, individuals turn up from time to time, collected in Malaise traps. Trapping method can be important because the Malaise trap is a passive intercept trap, and we do not use olfactory attractants with it. This avoids the “trapping out” of insects that may be attracted to baits, either pheromonal or organic (e.g. rotting fruits, proteinaceous slurries).
Regarding the etymology of the genus name, we are largely in the dark, although it is possible that the genus Ismarus refers to a mountain of the same name in what was ancient Thrace. Perhaps the genus name is taken from its place of capture on or near that mountain. Unfortunately, I have been unable to track down the original publication in which the genus was described by Haliday in 1835.
All published records of the biology of Ismarus species indicate that they are hyperparasitoids of Homoptera, mostly Cicadellidae (leaf hoppers), through Dryinidae larva, the primary parasitoid (see Pseudodryinus townesi from week 40). A hyperparasitoid is one which attacks the primary parasitoid - It gets a bit complicated.
Ismarus goodrichi (see image) is named for the late Gerry Goodrich, a close friend of ours from long ago days at Middlebury College in Vermont, USA. Ismarus goodrichi was described from a single specimen collected during the short rainy season (November and December) in a trap set in Kasaala in dry eastern Kenya. It remains the only known specimen of this species. Gerry would be happy to know that his eponymous species was collected in Kenya, where he was a Peace Corps volunteer many years ago. He was a confirmed internationalist and would appreciate that the paper in which his species was described was the product of a collaboration among three scientists, from South Korea, Kenya and the UK.
Credits: Dr Robert Copeland