''Alloxysta thorpei'' is a species of parasitoid wasp belonging to the family

Figitidae Figitidae is a family of parasitoid wasps. The full diversity of this wasp family is not yet known, but about 1400 species have been described to over 130 genera. For example, the largest subfamily, Eucoilinae (previously considered as a separa ...

. The species was first described by Mar Ferrer-Suay and Juli Pujade-Villar in 2012, and is found in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Taxonomy

The species was identified by Mar Ferrer-Suay and Juli Pujade-Villar in 2012, based on a holotype collected by J.S. Noyes in October 1980 from the Omahuta Forest Park

kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees, native to Australasia and Southeast Asia. It is one of three extant genera in the family Araucariaceae, alongside '' Wollemia'' and ''Araucaria'' (being ...

sanctuary in the

Northland Region Northland (), officially the Northland Region, is the northernmost of New Zealand's 16 regions of New Zealand, local government regions. New Zealanders sometimes refer to it as the Winterless North because of its mild climate all throughout t ...

, later recognised by Stephen E. Thorpe as a distinct species. Ferrer-Suay and Pujade-Villar named the species after Thorpe. Originally thought to be endemic to New Zealand, the species was later identified in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia in 2014, and is suspected to be an adventive species that originated from Australia.

Description

''A. thorpei'' measured between in length. It is yellowish brown in colour. It can be differentiated from '' A. rubidus'' and '' A. darci'' due to proportions of flagellomeres, and the shape of pronotal carinae.

Distribution and habitat

The species is found in Australia and New Zealand. In Australia the species has been found in

, and in New Zealand it has been found on the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

and the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

as far south as

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

. The species is typically found in association with ''

Nothofagus ''Nothofagus'', also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere, found across southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Guin ...

'' forests, however the host species for this insect is not known.

References

{{Authority control Insects described in 2012 Figitidae Insects of Queensland Hymenoptera of Australia Hymenoptera of New Zealand