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

White Darwin wasp (Protoleptops nyeupe) species baru dan kelima dalam genus sejak dideskripsikan Heinrich pada 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

Dlium theDlium

Tiang fern (Cyathea contaminans)

Paku tiang or pole fern or tiang fern ( Cyathea contaminans ) is a plant species in Cyatheaceae, has a height of up to 12 m, a single stem and the old part shows traces of leaves, the basal part is thickened by adventitious roots and grows mixed with other species. C. contaminans has stipe for 100 cm long, gloucous, purplish to the base, very thorny, when young has scales on all parts, up to 45x3 mm in size, pale brown, very thin and setiferous. The main rachis is pale, prickly, scaly as a stipe but then glabrescent. Pinnae has the largest size of 60 cm and the lowest decreases with stems up to 10 cm. Pinnules have a size of 150x30 mm or smaller with 1-2 pairs of basal segments more or not at all, the rest of the pine curved almost to the rib. Costules have a size of 4-5 mm. Common veins are 12 pairs. The lamina segment is hard, rough on the bottom and fibrous edges. Sori is exindusiate, near costule and pale paraphrase is no more than sporangia. The scales and hair on the pi...

Wild durian (Cullenia exarillata)

Wild durian ( Cullenia exarillata ) is a species of plant in the Malvaceae, a tall tree with smooth, greyish-white bark, peeling on older trees, a straight trunk, horizontal branches and often with a series of knob-like tubercles for flower and fruit attachment. C. exarillata has young branches and the underside of the leaves is covered with golden brown peltate or shield-like scales. The leaves are single, alternate, glabrous, glossy green on the upper side and covered with silvery or orange peltate scales on the underside. Hermaphroditic flowers are tubular and also covered with golden brown scales, 4-5 cm long and cream or reddish brown in color. Flowers have no petals, formed of tubular bracteoles and tubular calyxes, 5-lobed. Fruit is round, 10-13 cm in diameter, covered with thorns and clustered along the branches. Many seeds, reddish brown, 4-5 cm long and 2-3 cm wide. The seeds are enclosed by a fleshy, whitish aril. The fruit splits open when ripe and dries to release the s...

Thomas Sutikna lives with Homo floresiensis

BLOG - On October 28, 2004, a paper was published in Nature describing the dwarf hominin we know today as Homo floresiensis that has shocked the world. The report changed the geographical landscape of early humans that previously stated that the Pleistocene Asia was only represented by two species, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens . The report titled "A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia" written by Peter Brown and Mike J. Morwood from the University of New England with Thomas Sutikna, Raden Pandji Soejono, Jatmiko, E. Wahyu Saptomo and Rokus Awe Due from the National Archaeology Research Institute (ARKENAS), Indonesia, presents more diversity in the genus Homo. “Immediately, my fever vanished. I couldn’t sleep well that night. I couldn’t wait for sunrise. In the early morning we went to the site, and when we arrived in the cave, I didn’t say a thing because both my mind and heart couldn’t handle this incredible moment. I just went down...

Dlium