White Darwin wasp (Protoleptops nyeupe), a new species and the fifth in genus since Heinrich's description in 1967

NEWS - Researchers established a new species, white darwin wasp (Protoleptops nyeupe) marking the first occurrence of an Ichneumoninae species in Burundi, first described a female P. farquharsoni Heinrich 1967 from KwaZulu-Natal, documented P. magnificus from Mpumalanga, South Africa, and P. angolae Heinrich 1967 from Uganda,

P. nyeupe can be easily distinguished from all other known species of the genus by the combination of characters of incomplete carination of the propodeum, absence of costulae and fused dentiparous area with area externa and area spiracularis.

The temples are straight and fused (P. farquharsoni, P. heinrichi and P. magnificus are prominent and not fused). The hind tarsus is white (P. farquharsoni, P. heinrichi and P. magnificus are fused). The presence of scopa that occupies 1/3 of the ventral part of the coxa (P. heinrichi does not have it, P. angolae and P. farquharsoni are small, P. magnificus occupies 2/3 of the ventral side of the coxa).

Mesocutellum is white (P. farquharsoni and P. angolae are reddish orange, P. heinrichi and P. magnificus have lateral white markings). T2 is striped longitudinally in the middle (P. angolae and P. farquharsoni are densely spotted). Petiolar area is sharply demarcated (P. angolae is not sharply demarcated). Mesopleuron is spotted on the surface and is sparse (P. angolae is densely and strongly spotted).

The specific epithet nyeupe is a noun in apposition derived from the Swahili word “nyeupe” for white. This name refers to the extensive white color of the mesoscutum and mesoscutellum which contrasts sharply with the dark color of the rest of the body.

This study presents a comprehensive revision of Protoleptops Heinrich, 1967, and extends its range. A specimen of P. nyeupe in a bush on the edge of a dirt road was collected together with several unidentified females of Cryptini (Ichneumonidae, Cryptinae) that had the exact same coloration pattern as the new species.

P. nyeupe and the Cryptinae stood out from the background as small whitish moving balls. Researchers scoured museums and collections for species and genera of Ichneumoninae and Cryptinae that have this distinctive coloration pattern in the Afrotropics.

The discovery of this surprising new species also marks the first record of the Ichneumoninae subfamily for Burundi, coupled with the first record of P. angolae in East Africa, demonstrating that knowledge of the diversity and distribution of Darwin's wasps in the Afrotropics is still lacking.

Original research

Dal Pos D, De Ketelaere A, Di Giovanni F (2024). Revision of the Afrotropical genus Protoleptops Heinrich, 1967 (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Ichneumoninae), with description of a new species from Burundi. ZooKeys 1214: 197-216, DOI:10.3897/zookeys.1214.131071

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