New Wasp Species

New Wasp Species Latest News

Recently, scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have announced the discovery of four new species of spider-egg parasitic wasps, all from the State of West Bengal.

About New Wasp Species

• The new species of parasitoid wasps belong to the genus Idris (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae).
• These tiny wasps — Idris bianor, Idris furvus, Idris hyllus, and Idris longiscapus — were collected from agroecosystems and semi-natural habitats across West Bengal.

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Features of New Wasps

• These extremely small microscopic wasps belong to the genus Idris Förster and are known for laying their eggs inside spider egg sacs.
• These are primary egg parasitoids of jumping spiders (Salticidae).
• They exhibit an interesting behaviour pattern, the scientists noted that instead of just one wasp growing inside each spider egg sac, many baby wasps grow together and are called “gregarious parasitism”.
• Significance of wasps: Parasitoid wasps like Idris play a key role in regulating spider populations and maintaining arthropod community balance.

Key Facts about Parasitism

• It is a relationship between two species of plants or animals in which one benefits at the expense of the other, sometimes without killing the host organism.
• In parasitism only one species benefits (parasite and predator, respectively) and the interaction is detrimental to the other species (host and prey, respectively).
• Predation, parasitism and commensalism share a common characteristic– the interacting species live closely together.
• Brood parasitism in birds is a fascinating example of parasitism in which the parasitic bird lays its eggs in the nest of its host and lets the host incubate them.

Source: TH