Kozhikode: A team of scientists and researchers discovered two new species of wasps in the Trigonalidae family. One of the wasp was named after India’s nightingale Lata Mangeshkar. The wasp, which was spotted at Senbahanoor in Tamil Nadu, will be known as ‘Taeniogonalus Lathe’.

The wasp, which was discovered from the forests of Ambasamudram in Tamil Nadu was named as ‘Taeniogonalus Ayyari’ in honour of the pioneer Indian entomologist TV Ramakrishna Ayyar.

The newly found wasps display a unique life cycle. The mother wasp lays eggs on the leaves and the eggs later reach inside the butterflies, wasps or larvae of other wasp families which consume these leaves. The eggs would hatch from inside the host’s body. The larvae emerging from the eggs come out of the host’s body by killing it.

The research was conducted by a team, including C Binoy, professor of SN College, Chelannur; Dr P Gireesh Kumar, scientist at the Kozhikode centre of Zoological Survey of India; Dr S Santhosh, professor of Malabar Christian College; Dr Van Achterberg from Chinese University; and Dr Andrew Polaszek from London Natural History Museum. The report was published in the Journal of Natural History.

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