New Paper Wasp Species Discovered in India
Posted on January 30, 2015
A new species of paper wasp has been discovered in India. The wasp is from the southern Western Ghats, a mountain range in India. The species has the common name of Narendran's paper wasp and the scientific name of Ropalidia narendrani.
The Hindu reports that the researchers were led by Lambert Kishore, an associate professor at Malabar Christian College. The wasp species was named after late Professor T.C. Narendran for his contribution to the taxonomy on Indiana insects over the past 44 years.
The paper wasps belong to the Ropalidia genus of which there are 26 species in India. The researchers say in their report that the new species differs from all other Ropalidia species in having "long, strong, paired longitudinal basal carina on propodeum running three-fourth of its length posteriorly and with wider and deeper median depression on propodeum."
The wasp specimens were collected using a using a sweep net and were photographed with a Leica M60 stereo zoom microscope. The wasps are black with reddish and yellow markings. The wasp also has a solid yellow band on its abdomen.
A research paper on the new species can be found here in the Journal of Threatened Taxa.
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