Eucharis reticulata f. (Chalcidoidea, Eucharitidae) 5563

This sp. was much more numerous than its seemingly close relative, E. shestakovi. Its behaviour is the same as that of the related sp. Ant host is unknown. (If I had to guess, I vould suggest Cataglyphis aenescens, a rather common sp. in the area.)

 

Size: 5-6mm.

 

This specimen is still full of eggs. Adult females of Eucharis live only for a few days (they are unable to feed, due to the fact that they have nonfunctional mouthparts), and spend this time with ovipositing during daytime. Consequently, their metasoma ("abdomen") rapidly shrinks, as they get rid of the eggs. Alltogether, they lay thousends of eggs. The reason is that few larvae manage to end up in the nest of a host species of ant, where they can feed on the larvae and pupae of the host..

 

Eucharis is an odd generic name (given by Latreille in 1804), meaning something like "good news". I wonder wether anybody ever asked ants about that...

 

(Again, I believe these are the first pictures of the species.)

Done