Tuesday, 14 April 2026

Teeny-tiny wasp willies

Torymus rubi male

I recently encountered Torymus rubi for the first time. It was on the host plant (Rubus) and with some help, I was able to get a definitive ID. Not all species in the Torymidae are so straightforward however. This brought up again the question of why hymenopterists seem so reluctant to use gen det to confirm difficult species. One paper describes Torymus male genitalia (Klymenko, S. (2012) Morphological Characteristics of Male Genitalia in Some Species in the Genus Torymus. Zoodiversity, 46(2), e-41). I have to admit, some are rather similar, and this paper only covers a few species. Fortunately, the T. rubi aedeagus is quite distinctive:

Torymus rubi aedeagus

It's not a particularly difficult dissection, given the size of the insect. So what's the deal hymenopterists - why the reluctance to dissect?

 



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