The first record of the family Xenidae (Strepsiptera) from Ukraine

S. R.  Pytel-Huta; A. T.  Zatushevsky

doi:10.15407/zoo2026.05.533

S. R. Pytel-Huta Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4707-9871
A. T. Zatushevsky Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0033-0718

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15407/zoo2026.05.533

Keywords: Xenos vesparum, Polistes, Vespidae, stylopisation, host-parasite interactions, Eastern Europe

Abstract

The family Xenidae (Strepsiptera) is first recorded from Ukraine based on the findings of Xenos vesparum Rossius, 1793. A total of 40 specimens (21 females and 19 males), including one adult male, were identified from museum collections and online records (UkrBIN, iNaturalist, GBIF). Twenty-two stylopised host wasps were identified: 21 specimens of Polistes dominula (Christ, 1791) and one specimen of P. nimpha (Christ, 1791). These data confirm the dominant host effect for this parasite species.

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