''Pauesia grossa'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

parasitoid In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...

wasp in the subfamily

Aphidiinae The Aphidiinae are a subfamily of tiny parasitoid wasps that use aphids as their hosts. Several species have been used in biological control programs of various aphids. Biology and distribution Aphidiines are koinobiont endoparasitoids of ad ...

. It is specific to a particular

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People *Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

, the black stem aphid (''Cinara confinis''), which feeds on the sap of coniferous trees, particularly

fir Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...

s (''Abies''). ''Pauesia grossa'' was first described by the Austrian entomologist Josef Fahringer in 1937. It is known from Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Switzerland and France. In 2014 it was first observed in the United Kingdom, being tentatively identified at the

Bedgebury National Pinetum Bedgebury National Pinetum at Bedgebury, Kent, in the United Kingdom, is a recreational and conservational arboretum managed by Forestry England that was established as the National Conifer Collection in 1925 and is now recognised as the most ...

in Kent. With the increasing acreage of

noble fir ''Abies procera'', the noble fir, also called red fir and Christmas tree, is a species of fir native to the Cascade Range and Pacific Coast Ranges of the northwestern Pacific Coast of the United States. It occurs at altitudes of . Description '' ...

(''Abies procera'') being grown in Britain for use as Christmas trees, ''Cinara confinis'' is likely to become a more widespread pest, and the introduction of ''Pauesia grossa'' may prove important in controlling the aphid.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1870135 Braconidae Insects described in 1937 Taxa named by Josef Fahringer