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NEW ZEALAND BEEKEEPER, FEBRUARY 2017
Next steps Back in New Zealand, the wasp combs Bob brought back are now housed in the insect containment facility at Landcare Research in Lincoln, and a good proportion of cells appear to be parasitised with Sphecophaga. Some combs are visibly made out of queen cells, and it is possible to get a bounty of two Sphecophaga out of each queen cells. Once
the parasitoids start emerging, a proportion will get sacrificed for disease testing—we want to make sure we release a healthy culture into the wild. Pending disease- freedom, releases will begin in January, with Banks Peninsula in mind as targets for early release site, to enable a close watch and easy collection for later redistribution.
In addition, semi-wild wasp nests will be set up on the Landcare Research campus to mass-rear Sphecophaga. Parasitised wasp pupae from this mass rearing will be distributed later on to more release sites. All working to plan, we hope to be able to make five to six releases of 50–100 individuals in each in the first instance. In the meantime, you can enjoy the little photo gallery below and watch videos Bob filmed while in the UK:
Volucella larva on a mission to find brood cells in a common wasp comb: https://youtu.be/ n2H78L8VrnI Bob removing a nest inside a tree: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=IXhx2tBGnDg
All extremely exciting—didn’t we say so?
Source Wasp biocontrol update no.8, e-mailed 26 October 2016.
Late instar larvae of the parasitic hoverfly, Volucella inanis, looking for a place to hide from the light. Photo: Bob Brown.
Wasp comb showing heavy parasitism (reddish brown cells). All cells originally had queen brood before parasitism. Photo: Bob Brown.
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