Spotlighting Darwin wasps (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) in Zambia: a new species and the urgent need for further exploration.

ABSTRACT: The parasitoid Darwin wasps (Ichneumonidae) are one of the most species-rich families of insects, with a crucial role in ecosystem functioning while many species are known as potential biological control agents. However, the group is poorly studied, especially in the Afrotropical realm, where for several countries only a handful of species have been recorded. Zambia is one of the countries with the fewest records for Darwin wasps with only 26 species reported in the largest Ichneumonidae database, "Taxapad", from 2016 and subsequent publications. In this study, the species of Darwin wasps recorded from Zambia were reviewed and complemented with newly collected species in the Northern Province, to provide a first preliminary checklist of Darwin wasps in Zambia. Our findings increased the nu

SUBMITTER: Meier N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12041865 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature