Taeniogonalos Deepaki

Table of Contents☰

About Taeniogonalos deepaki

It was discovered in the Belgaum region of Karnataka.
It is named after the medical doctor and nature enthusiast Dr Deepak Deshpande who collected the specimen.
The genus Taeniogonalos belongs to the family Trigonalyidae of the order Hymenoptera.
The Trigonalyidae family consists of a type of insects called hyperparasitoids that “sneak into” parasitoids, or insects whose larvae develop on or within the bodies of other insects.
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.
The scientists have also reported the first male description of another species, Taeniogonalos eurysoma.
Most of the Taeniogonalos species have been reported from south India.

What is a parasitoid?

It is an organism that has young that develop on or within another organism (the host), eventually killing it.
Parasitoids have characteristics of both predators and parasites.

Q1) What is 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.

Source: New species of parasitoid wasp discovered in Western Ghats