Stylaclista quasimodo
Stylaclista females have a striking hump on the thorax that earns them the species name “quasimodo”
Stylaclista is a diapriid wasp in the subfamily Belytinae. They are obligate parasitoids that inject their eggs into fly pupa. Diapriids like Stylaclista target gall midges (Family: Cecidomyiidae), so these are the probable hosts of S. quasimodo. Larval Stylaclista consume the host pupa from the inside and emerge as adults to begin the cycle anew.
Stylaclista are very common in New Zealand, but they often go unnoticed because of their small size. They can be found in yellow pan traps in both rural and urban areas, including the University of Auckland city campus.. So don’t let their alien looks deceive you, Stylaclista quasimodo has been with us all our lives.
As an adult, Stylaclista quasimodo are a red-brown in colour and approximately 1.5cm-2cm long. There is a prominent hump on the thorax, which is why this species is named after Quasimodo. The female metasoma (abdomen) has an elongate “”tail””, while the male metasoma is shorter. Both sexes are very charming and charismatic.
The species “quasimodo” was described by John Early in 1980 based on specimens from the Auckland Islands. A taxonomic revision would probably find about a dozen species of Stylaclista across Aotearoa, but quasimodo is the only one described right now.
Check these links for more info on the Hunchbacked Shelf Wasp in NZ
At this point, no Wikipedia exists for the Hunchbacked Shelf Wasp
Wikipedia: Learn more about this family of wasps (Diapriidae)
Additional info on Diapriidae wasps
Follow the Hunchbacked Shelf Wasp campaign on Instagram: @stylaclista4boty26
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