New parasitic wasp could help manage soybean pest in Minnesota

A new species of parasitic wasp discovered could benefit soybean crops throughout the state, University of Minnesota researchers say.

A new species of parasitic wasp discovered could benefit soybean crops throughout the state, University of Minnesota researchers say.

Following the emergence of the gall midge in 2018, farmers have struggled to manage the insect, which prompted researchers to seek effective and environmentally-friendly ways to help soybean farmers.

The newly discovered parasitic wasps could prove beneficial to managing the soybean gall midge – a recently emerged pest in Midwest soybean fields that can have devastating impacts on plant production.

"Effective management of soybean gall midge has proven challenging. Identification of a new species of parasitic wasp attacking this pest is an exciting breakthrough," said Robert Koch, an associate professor in the Department of Entomology and an Extension entomologist, in a statement.

As a result, a team of University of Minnesota researchers focused on searching for parasitoids as biological approaching to fighting the gall midge.

In collaboration with two taxonomists who specialize in this group of insects it was found that there was no information on this wasp in scientific record, and was a new-to-science species.

According to a press release, the team used DNA sequencing data and physical characteristics of the wasps to formally describe the specimens and give them a scientific name: Synopeas maximum.

The findings point toward this newly described parasitoid wasp species being a likely natural enemy of soybean gall midge. Research was supported by the Minnesota Rapid Agricultural Response Fund.

"Unidentified and undescribed parasitoid micro-wasps are all around us. Although they are tiny, they play a huge role in regulating the populations of other insects, including pests. It’s really exciting to discover a new parasitoid species in such an important crop system," said Jessica Awad, a State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart doctoral researcher, in a statement.