Description

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Context:

A team of researchers from the Bengaluru-based Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) and collaborators have identified five new species of the Darwin wasp subfamily Microleptinae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) from India and Thailand.

About Darwin wasp:

Definition	Parasitoids that lay their eggs on or in the bodies of other arthropods.
Host Insects	Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies), Coleoptera (beetles), and Hymenoptera (ants, bees, and wasps).
Appearance	Head, thorax, and abdomen structure with six legs. Large compound eyes on the side of the head and three ocelli on the top. Longer antennae with more segments.
Feeding Behavior	Adults typically feed on nectar and pollen. Solitary except for mating.
Breeding	Females lay eggs in or on the larvae or pupae (rarely eggs or adults) of the host. Some species can use their ovipositors to penetrate solid wood to reach wood-boring hosts.
Ecological Significance	Critical for controlling populations of crop-damaging pests like aphids and caterpillars, contributing to natural pest management without environmental contamination.

Recently four new species have been discovered in India viz

Microleptes gowrishankari collected from Biligiri Ranganathaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve in Karnataka.
Microleptes sandeshkaduri collected from Siang Valley, Arunachal Pradesh.
Microleptes chiani collected from Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR), Tamil Nadu.
Microleptes tehriensis is named after its collection site, Tehri in Uttarakhand.

About Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE):

It is a globally recognized non-profit organization focused on environmental protection and sustainable, socially just development.

ATREE is concerned with the creation and dissemination of rigorous interdisciplinary knowledge that informs and is informed by the needs of local communities, policymakers, and the wider public. It prioritizes capacity building to produce the next generation of scholars and leaders.

Source:

THE HINDU

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q.What is the Darwin wasp, and why is it significant in the study of evolutionary biology?

(a) A rare species of plant found only in the Galápagos Islands.

(b) A parasitic wasp is known for its role in the evolution of host insects.

(d) A fossil wasp that provides evidence of ancient plant-insect interactions.

Answer: b

Explanation:

The Darwin wasps, a subfamily of parasitoids from the Ichneumonidae family, lay their eggs on or inside other arthropods like moths and beetles. Identified in India and Thailand, they are crucial for natural pest management, controlling crop-damaging pests such as aphids and caterpillars without environmental contamination.