Chirotica decorator (Villers, 1789)

Verheyde, Fons, Hoekstra, Paul, Libert, Pierre-Nicolas, Meijer, Hilco, Ketelaere, Augustijn De, Vandaudenard, Thibaud, Belgers, Dick & Brosens, Edwin, 1880, Two hundred and five ichneumonid wasps reported for the first time in Belgium and the Netherlands (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), Belgian Journal of Entomology 122, pp. 1-142 : 89-90

Chirotica decorator (Villers, 1789)

Chirotica is a remarkable genus with species superficially resembling Cryptini . The fore wing has a unique venation: the areolet is not or only indistinctly formed, 2rs-m is very short or obliterated and 1m-cu is only weakly angled forward. Additionally, the females can be easily recognised by the presence of two strongly pigmented black bands on the fore wings ( TOWNES, 1970a; HORSTMANN, 1983).

Chirotica decorator has slender antennal segments, with the first flagellomere at least 3.6x as long as wide. Its ovipositor sheaths are shorter than the hind tibiae. Its colouration is remarkable. The mesopleuron, the metapleuron, the hind coxae, the hind femora (mostly) and at least the first two tergites are red. The head, mesoscutum, scutellum, front and middle legs (especially coxae and femora) and apical tergites are grayish to black. The basal flagellomeres are red brown. The tegulae are creamy yellow to white, the hind tibiae have a very small yellow spot subbasally and the apical tergites have a whitish band (HORSTMANN, 1983). It is the commonest species of the genus in Europe, but apparently flies in low abundancies. The moths Pachythelia villosella (Ochsenheimer, 1810) and Canephora hirsuta (Poda, 1761) ( Lepidoptera : Psychidae ) are rather rare, but plausible, host candidates.

First report of the species and the genus for the Netherlands; unreported in Belgium.

MATERIAL EXAMINED:

THE NETHERLANDS: • 1 ♀; Heeze-Leende , Strabrechtste Heide (NB); 51°23’49”N 5°38’15”E; 9/v/2020; Telpost Strabrecht leg.; field observation; G. Várkonyi, M. Storey & F. Verheyde det. (ObsID: 190982125) .