A new species of wasp has been discovered from the Western Ghats, one of the biodiversity hotspots of the country.

Muhamed Jafer Palot of Western Ghats Regional Centre (WGRC) of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Kozhikode, said this wasp belonged to the sub-family of Eumeninae of the family Vespidae.

They were harmless and made mud nests, he said, adding the size of this new species of wasp was about 6 mm only.

This new species was so far recorded from Malabar Wildlife Sanctuary, Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary, Nilambur forests, and also from Muthappanpuzha of Kozhikode district, he said, adding the new species was discovered by a team consisting of P. Girish Kumar and P. M. Sureshan, of the WGRC of ZSI, and James M. Carpenter of the American Museum of Natural History, New York.

Dr. Palot also said the details of the new species had been published in the latest issue of the journal ‘Halteres.’

Along with this new species, two other new species were spotted in the forests of Assam and Meghalaya, he said, adding with these discoveries, the total number of species of genus ‘Parancistrocerus’ has been increased to three in Kerala and 11 in India.