Corresponding author: Darren Ward (
Academic editor: Jose Fernandez-Triana
The introduction of species to new regions is occurring at an increasing rate. These introductions typically consist of species that are deliberately introduced for the purposes of biological control of pests or of species that are accidentally introduced through human-mediated transport networks.
Understanding the potential and actual impacts of these introduced species requires comprehensive information on their geographic distributions and biological associations.
However, apart from a few well-known case studies, such information is lacking for many introduced species which severely hinders further assessment of risks and impact.
A dataset is provided on host associations, geographic distributions and dates of collection for both deliberately and accidentally-introduced parasitoid wasp species (
The dataset includes 1265 specimen records, representing 127 parasitoid species from 12 families, with host records for 177 host species from 61 families and eight insect orders.
These data provide baseline information to help evaluate the risk from introduced parasitoids to non-target and native species.
The introduction of species to new regions is occurring at an increasing rate globally (
Risk assessments are important tools used in biosecurity and pest management to provide estimates of risk towards native species (
Many species of
The main goal was to create a comprehensive dataset of specimen records of parasitoid wasp species (
Taxonomic collections have accumulated specimens over long periods of time (e.g. many decades to centuries), from across many regions and landscapes and are often the only source of specific information or records of an insect species, its occurrence, distribution and specific biological associations. This is particulary so for some groups of insects, for example, cryptic and very small insects, like many parasitoid wasps, which can be overlooked in other kinds of record keeping methods, such as citizen science observations. Consequently, taxonomic collections provide key data on parasitoid-host associations based on a combination of biocontrol voucher specimens, rearing records and historical sampling.
We used species and specimens from the New Zealand Arthropod Collection (NZAC), Auckland, New Zealand. This collection is the largest in the country, has the most comprehensive coverage of the New Zealand insect fauna, being formed in 1920 (
Specimen records from the New Zealand Arthropod Collection (NZAC), Auckland, New Zealand. This is the insect national collection of New Zealand.
First, we compiled a taxonomic checklist that accounted for all species of parasitoid wasps (
Transcription of specimen records were revised by the first author to check the status and availablity of taxonomic names. OpenRefine was used to improve data quality and standardise terms. Scientific names were checked using the New Zealand Organisms Register (NZOR).
The dataset includes specimens only from New Zealand. The Regions of Auckland (59% of all records) and Nelson (18%) dominate the geographic coverage. This is not dissimilar to a general pattern of collecting for
-49.668 and -34.692 Latitude; 178.808 and 173.009 Longitude.
In total, the dataset includes specimen records of 127 parasitoid species from 12 families with host records for 177 host species from 61 families and eight insect orders. These are (alphabetically by order and family):
The dataset can be split into 1) 36 deliberately-introduced parasitoid species from eight families with associated records for 56 host species from 28 families; and 2) 91 accidentally-introduced parasitoid species from 11 families with host records for 138 host species from 52 families and eight insect orders.
For accidentally-introduced species,
Overall, the temporal coverage of the dataset is from 1921 - 2017; and is similar for deliberate introductions (1922 - 2010) and accidental introductions (1921 - 2017) (Fig.
Most records of deliberately-introduced species are between the periods of 1960-1970s and 1980-1990s, periods that correspond with the greatest number of programmes to introduce and release biological control agents (
Records of accidentally-introduced species have increased steadily over time and from 2000 onwards, dominate the dataset, reflecting the increased awareness and study of accidentally-introduced species in the general New Zealand environment (
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Introduced Parasitoid-Host Records in New Zealand
1
Introduced Parasitoid-Host Records in New Zealand
Darwin Core Standard
1.0
Column label | Column description |
---|---|
Dataset | Accidental (species unintentionally introduced into New Zealand) or Deliberate (species intentionally introduced into New Zealand, mainly for biological control) |
NZAC_Accession_Number | Accession Number in the New Zealand Arthropod Collection (NZAC) |
Quantity | Number of specimen records with the same information |
Order | Taxonomic Order |
Family | Taxonomic Family |
Taxon_Name | Genus and species name |
Life_Stage | Life stage of digitised specimens (all are Adults) |
Country | Country from where specimen was collected (all records are from New Zealand) |
New_Zealand_Area_Code | 2-digit area code of entomological regions in New Zealand |
Locality | Location the specimen was collected from |
Date | Date the specimen was collected |
Year | Year the specimen was collected |
Collectors | Person(s) who collected the specimen(s) |
Method | How the specimen was collected / sampled |
Biological_information_label | Biological information on the specimen label |
Has_Host | Yes /No |
Host_species | Genus and species name of the host species |
Host_NZ_Biostatus | Status of host in NZ: Endemic (only found in NZ); Native (naturally occurring in NZ, but also present elsewhere) or Exotic (accidentally or deliberately introduced into New Zealand) |
Host_Common_Name | Name on specimen label when a taxonomic name was not listed |
Identification_Uncertainty | Uncertainty of the host identification is noted |
Host_Family | Taxonomic Family of the host |
Host_Order | Taxonomic Order of the host |
Life_Stage_of_Host | Life Stage of Host recorded on specimen label (adult, larvae, pupa, immature) |
Association | Other information on specimen label relating to host/biology/microhabitat |
Latitude_Degrees_decimal | Decimal degrees of latitude |
Longitude_Degrees_decimal | Decimal degrees of longitude |
Datum | Georeference system (all are WGS84) |
Is_derived | Is the georeferenced derived |
Measurement_Method_Name | Method to obtain derived georeference |
Funding to support this project 'A17.3 Informing Future Decisions for BCA Introductions' came from the Ministry for Business, Innovation, and Employment to Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research within the Biota Portfolio and the Better Border Biosecurity research collaboration.
DW conceived the study and cleaned the data. TBC and ST digitised specimen records. ST sorted out technical issues associated with the database.
Dates of collection for specimens of accidental (blue) or deliberately (red) introduced parasitoid wasp species in New Zealand.
Percentage of host records for each taxonomic order for accidentally and deliberately-introduced parasitoid species in New Zealand.
Order | Accidental Introductions | Deliberate Introductions |
|
13% | 7% |
|
16% | 16% |
|
20% | 40% |
|
13% | 2% |
|
38% | 35% |
|
1% | 0% |
|
1% | 0% |