Researchers discover two new species of rare wasp

They were found in north-eastern India and Western Ghats

Researchers have discovered two new species of very rare wasp-like flower flies from north-eastern India and the Western Ghats.

The newly described species, Monoceromyia flavoscutata and M. nigra, belong to the Syrphidae family. They were discovered by researchers H. Sankararaman, a Ph.D scholar from Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu, Anooj S.S., an assistant professor of entomology at the Kerala Agricultural University, Padannakkad, and Ximo Mengual, a scientist from Alexander Koenig Zoological Research Museum, Germany. The study was recently published in the Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology.

Mr. Anooj told The Hindu that members of the genus are extremely rare with only 12 species reported from India previously. “The new species discovery in this rare genus is happening in India after 80 years,” he said. As part of the study, surveys were done in the forests of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Arunachal Pradesh, he added.