''Lissopimpla excelsa'', commonly known as the orchid dupe wasp, is a

wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

of the family

Ichneumonidae The Ichneumonidae, also known as the ichneumon wasps, Darwin wasps, or ichneumonids, are a family of parasitoid wasps of the insect order Hymenoptera. They are one of the most diverse groups within the Hymenoptera with roughly 25,000 species cu ...

native to Australia. Although also found in New Zealand, where it is known as the dusky-winged ichneumonid, it has probably been introduced there. However, another source states that it may be native to New Zealand. It pollinates all five Australian members of the orchid genus ''

Cryptostylis ''Cryptostylis'', commonly known as tongue orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family. Tongue orchids are terrestrial herbs with one to a few stalked leaves at the base of the flowering stem, or leafless. One to a few dull co ...

''. The male wasp mistakes the flower parts for a female wasp and attempts to copulate with it. Although the different species can occur together, they appear to inhibit cross-fertilisation and no hybrids are found in nature. This discovery was made by Australian naturalist

Edith Coleman Edith Coleman (1874–1951) was an Australian naturalist and nature writer who made important observations on pollination syndromes in Australian plant species. Early life Coleman was born Edith Harms on 29 July 1874 in Woking, Surrey. She emig ...

in 1928. The term "

pseudocopulation Pseudocopulation describes behaviors similar to copulation that serve a reproductive function for one or both participants but do not involve actual sexual union between the individuals. It is most generally applied to a pollinator attempting to ...

" has since been coined to describe the phenomenon. The mimicking of flowers to resemble female wasp parts has since been recorded in other orchid genera. Although termed pseudocopulation, vigorous copulation does occur, and the male wasp ejaculates enough so that the emissions are visible to the naked eye on the flower parts. A 2008 field study showed these to contain wasp sperm. The flowers of ''

'' orchids and female wasp body parts are very similar in colour when viewed under a hymenopteran visual system, despite looking unlike to human eyes. Although the colours that ichneumon wasps see are unknown, bees and wasps have similar perception with green, blue and ultraviolet wavelengths. The ''Cryptostylis'' flowers have no smell detectable to humans, but have been shown to have an odour which attracts the wasp. Pseudocopulation with the orchid ''Cryptostylis subulata'' occurs in New Zealand. The orchid dupe wasp was first described by Italian entomologist

Achille Costa Achille Costa (10 August 1823, Lecce – 17 November 1899 Rome) was an Italian zoologist working mainly in entomology who was appointed director of the Zoological Museum of Naples. He founded the entomological collections in Naples and describe ...

in 1864 as ''Pimpla excelsa'', before being placed in (and becoming the type species of) the new genus '' Lissopimpla'' in 1889 by

Joseph Kriechbaumer Joseph Kriechbaumer (21 March 1819, Tegernsee- 2 May 1902), Munich was a German entomologist who specialised in Hymenoptera especially Ichneumonidae. A Doctor of Philosophy, Kriechbaumer was Kurator (Director) of the Munich Natural History Muse ...

, who called it ''Lissopimpla octo-guttata'' Kriechb. It was also known for many years as ''Lissopimpla semipunctata'', however Costa's name has priority and hence is the correct name. The head, mesosoma, legs and apical segments of the metasoma are red-brown, the first four segment of the metasoma are black with paired large white spots, and the wings are a dark smoky brown except at the apex of the fore wings. Like all members of its family, ''L. excelsa'' is

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...

. One species it preys upon is the noctuid moth pest species ''

Helicoverpa armigera ''Helicoverpa armigera'' is a species of Lepidoptera in the family Noctuidae. It is known as the cotton bollworm, corn earworm, Old World (African) bollworm, or scarce bordered straw (the lattermost in the UK, where it is a migrant). The larvae ...

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6559211 Hymenoptera of New Zealand Ichneumonidae Insects of Australia Orchid pollinators Taxa named by Achille Costa