Shedding light on dark taxa: exploring a cryptic diversity of parasitoid wasps affected by artificial light at night.

ABSTRACT: Artificial light at night (ALAN) contributes to the globally observed insect decline. ALAN attracts nocturnal insects from their native ecosystems and disturbs their functions in the food web. Road lights in this context are ubiquitous and relevant ALAN sources that are often not considered in conservation approaches. In a previous study we showed that shielded LED road lights are suited to be part of conservation measures by effectively reducing the attraction of nocturnal insects. Here we show that this positive effect holds true for parasitoid wasps in an experimental BACI design (Before-After-Control-Impact). Combining morphological with molecular and phylogenetic analyses, we identified 106 individuals (62 morphotypes) of a minimum of 45 genera out of 13 Hymenoptera families. We were

SUBMITTER: Dietenberger M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11842737 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature