Taeniogonalos Deepaki

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