1906 Discovery: Wood-Boring Wasp Found in Wigan Coalpit

The Unexpected Discovery

An insect which was captured in a coalpit near Wigan has been sent to me. The son of the collier who found it took it to his schoolmaster, who forwarded it to me for identification. It is a male sirex juvencus, one of the tailed wasps or saw-flies, and it was introduced into the pit probably as a grub in one of the props.

The Life Cycle of the Wood-Boring Wasp

The female sirex lays her eggs in fir or pine trees, and the maggots do considerable damage by boring tunnels in the wood; they will attack sound wood, though Miss Eleanor Anne Ormerod was of opinion that the trees which were attacked were generally past their prime.

Related Species and Geographic Distribution

There is a larger and very handsome fly, sirex gigas, which is perhaps better known than this species. One authority declares that the smaller sirex is more abundant in England than the large one, but a more recent writer says that the reverse is the case, although the small species is abundant on the continent.

Global Trade and Invasive Species

It is probable, owing to the fact that wood for pit-props is imported, that the insect came from abroad. I have seen several insects found in mines introduced in wood, amongst them a very fine longicorn beetle, which has exceedingly long antennae.

Historical Context of Entomological Discoveries

This discovery from 1906 represents an important moment in the documentation of insect species and their migration patterns. The find highlights how human activities like mining and international trade can inadvertently transport species across their natural habitats.