Specimens of Ichneumonidae (wasps) Trapped in the Lockyer Valley (2007-2008)

The teams work focuses on understanding and capturing the ecosystem services of pest control and pollination for sustainable, secure food production. A key component of this work is knowing the function of a wide range of invertebrates that provide these services, of which Hymenoptera figure prominently. This particular project involved the use of 12 bi-directional malaise traps set up for a year (2007-08) in various habitats and differing landscapes (native vegetation and agricultural areas in the Lockyer Valley). This long term malaise trapping resulted in a vast number of Hymenoptera samples being generated and this collection contains the Ichneumonidae caught in these malaise traps during that time. This collection consists of 11,780 specimens in ethanol covering 225 species and of these, approximately 2000 have been pinned, thereby creating a reference collection.