Ghost wasps  

Dr Ben Parslow from the South Australian Museum will provide an insight into the world of parasitic Ghost wasps and how they affect our native bees.

Dr Ben Parslow is one of the collection managers for terrestrial invertebrates at the South Australian Museum, where his passion for working with insects, fieldwork and collaboration are helping to discover South Australia’s biodiversity.  His primary research interests are the systematics and host-parasite interactions of the insect order Hymenoptera (ants, bees and wasps). His talk will explore the wasp family Gasteruptiidae, an easily recognised, diverse group of wasps whose larvae are predator-inquilines of cavity-nesting bees and wasps.

Although they are readily collected and there is an abundance of material in collections, there is limited information on their systematic relationships, biodiversity, and evolutionary relationships with their hosts.  The family exhibits an interesting distribution with the largest genus Gasteruption found across all biogeographical regions. The smaller genera are all restricted to specific regions (e.g. Pseudofoenus is restricted to a Gondwanan distribution, Spinolafoenus is only found in the Neotropical region).

There has been no strong consensus for the phylogenetic relationships or biogeography of the family, with only two studies including more than singleton taxa in large-scale family-level studies. We used Ultraconserved Elements (UCE) from freshly collected and museum preserved material to infer phylogenetic relationships, estimate divergence dates and test biogeography boundaries for the family across the world.  Our dataset recovered the most robust phylogeny for the family to date with almost unanimous support across the tree confirming the monophyly of the genera Gasteruption, Hyptiogaster and Pseudofoenus. We were also able to estimate the divergence age of the family during the Paleocene, coinciding with the divergence of their hosts but revealing a complex and confusing biogeographical history within this family.

You can attend this event at the Plympton Community Centre or virtually using Zoom communications software.

If you plan to attend in person, strict adherence to COVID-19 restrictions is important, and Community Centre management requires that

(1) visitors are fully vaccinated against Covid19 and carry proof of this with them while attending the venue

(2) physical distancing rules apply at all times 

(3) people wear masks except when eating or drinking.   

If you plan to attend in person, please send an email in advance to secretary@butterflyconservationsa.net.au stating event name(s), your name and vaccination status.

If you have not received a designated job to help organize the meeting you will not be admitted to the Hall until 6.15 pm.

Please sign in and provide your contact details (for insurance and contact tracing) and please use hand sanitiser.

Entry will be by donation (minimum $2) and bring a plate to share and a cup.   Will be great to see you there!

If you plan to attend virtually, please register in advance for this meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0ld-GpqzkpHN3O5SbvHJ2bkvCnyFcHecjI

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

The Plympton Community Centre,  34 Long Street, Plympton.

(200 metres E of Marion Rd, and 300 metres N of Anzac Highway).

Bus from the city via Anzac Highway. Routes: 245, 248, 262, 263, 265, M44, N262.

Closest stop is Stop 9, then approximately 350 metre walk along Long Street.

Bus from the city via Marion Road. Routes 100, 101, H20.
Closest stop is Stop 10 (east side is approximately 100 metres south of Long street). Stop 10 (west side is on the other side of Moringie Ave. approx. 100 metres north of Long Street). Then approx.250 metre walk along Long Street.

At the start of meetings, a BCSA committee member gives a ten-minute presentation on a ‘Butterfly of the Month’.

Public talks schedule

If an advertised speaker is not available, we will try to provide an alternative speaker of similar interest.

The views of presenters are their personal views. The BCSA does not necessarily endorse any views expressed.