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Source- The post on Taeniogonalos deepaki is based on the article “New species of parasitoid wasp discovered in the Western Ghats” published in “The Hindu” on 7th March 2024.
What is the News?
Recently, a new species of parasitoid wasp was discovered in the Western Ghats by scientists at ATREE, Bengaluru.
About Taeniogonalos deepaki
1. About: It was discovered in the Belgaum region of Karnataka. The genus Taeniogonalos belongs to the family Trigonalyidae of the order Hymenoptera.
2. Category: The Trigonalyidae family comprises hyperparasitoids, a type of insect that “sneak into” parasitoids or insects whose larvae grow on or inside other insects’ bodies.
Note: A parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host, but at the host’s expense. Unlike typical parasites (such as fleas or ticks), parasitoids eventually result in the death of their host.
3. Distribution: The Taeniogonalos genus is distributed in Afrotropical, oriental, eastern palaearctic, nearctic, Australian and neotropical regions. 6 of the species have been reported earlier from India and 20 from China.
4. Distinguish features: A combination of features, including the head, antenna, and fore-wing, distinguishes the new species from other Taeniogonalos species found in India.
UPSC Syllabus: Species in news
