Biography:
For help with ichneumonid identification, visit my website: ichsofna.org.
Graduate student at USU studying ichneumonid systematics. Mainly interested in Nearctic Ichneumoninae and world Phaeogenini.
The vast majority of ichs cannot be identified to species (based on field photos) let alone genus. There are simply too many species, many of them look too similar and can only be separated by examination under a scope, and our knowledge of them is extremely poor. This is why physical collections are still greatly needed and collecting (especially by amateurs) is the single best way to contribute to research on ichs! Here is a great article about why killing and collecting insects is still so important: http://malaiseprogram.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/whywekillbugs-1.pdf.
All observations are of specimens in my personal collection, though often not collected by myself. ID's are based on my personal knowledge and published literature and verified with reference specimens from the USU ichneumonid collection (formerly the American Entomological Institute). My imaging system consists of a Canon Rebel T5 with either a Canon EFS 60mm macro lens for habitus shots or a Laowa 2.5-5.0x macro lens for closer shots. The camera is mounted on a dissecting scope stand and relatively diffused lighting is achieved with a cheap LED ring light covered in vellum paper and with a circular piece of styrofoam on the end. Around 10-25 images are taken then stacked in Helicon focus. Let me know if you have questions about setting up an imaging system for pinned insect specimens.
For anyone interested in making a significant research contribution, I'm looking for help sampling ichneumoninae biodiversity, particularly in the western US. It's not hyperbole to say that no matter where you are you will collect an undescribed species. Ichneumoninae is the largest ichneumonid subfamily, yet it is very poorly known in the Nearctic and there are potentially hundreds of undescribed species. The vast majority of species in the western US are undescribed. There are even some undescribed species in the northeastern US, where a decent bit of taxonomic effort has been spent by Gerd Heinrich. If you are interested, send me a message for more details. The easiest way to collect ichneumonines is with a Malaise (flight intercept) trap which I would be happy to provide. Specimens caught using other methods (rearing, sweeping, aerial net, etc.) would be much appreciated as well.
Also, I'm looking for people to trade any by-catch Diptera, Chalcidoidea, etc. for ichneumonids!
Big thanks to Dan Cavan, Jody Frey (@schoolstreetflowers), Andrée Sanborn (@andreerenosanborn), Spencer Hardy (@beeboy), Ryne Rutherford (@ryruther), Dr. Ollie Flint, Dr. David Smith, Dr. Scott Shaw, Dr. W. B. Warner for sending me very valuable specimens!
Published journal articles:
Revision of Nearctic Heterischnus Wesmael, 1859 (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Ichneumoninae, Phaeogenini)
https://jhr.pensoft.net/article/67792/
Revision of the genus Jethsura Cameron, 1902 (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Ichneumoninae: Phaeogenini)
https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5071.2.3
