In the realm of famous thieves and tricksters, from Han Solo to Catwoman, scientists have discovered a new set of unusual suspects: tiny wasps from a little-studied genus.
The wasps aren’t hooded vigilantes or brave galactic villains, but tiny marauders who are in the spotlight thanks to new research from Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. The experts have named 22 new species of gall wasps.
A rich carpet of honey buzzards
Gall wasps are insects that lead a kleptomaniac-like existence. They inhabit small structures called ‘galls’ which they steal from other wasp species.
In recognition of their thieving ways, scientists named the newly discovered insects after infamous thieves and tricksters from history, mythology and pop culture.
Consider the wasp known as Prometheus, which takes its name from the titan of Greek mythology who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity.
The vibrant, fiery red color of this wasp made it an ideal candidate for such a legendary name.
Significance of the study
This research is more than just a nice naming ceremony insects. Lead author of the study Louis Nastasi, a doctoral student in entomology at Penn State, emphasized the importance of the team’s work.
“By naming these species, we give other researchers an anchor that they can take with them to other studies, because they can now identify wasps that were previously unknown,” Nastasi said.
“It provides a foundation and a toolbox for future work that can help us understand these kind and their ecosystems more broadly.”
The research opens a new chapter in understanding these elusive wasps and provides valuable insights into their biology.
Focus of the research
The catalyst for the study was a difficult question raised by a separate investigation into the evolution of gall wasps. A team from the University of Iowa had DNA data from several wasps, but had difficulty identifying the exact species.
This led to a collaboration with Nastasi, whose expertise lies in species identification, description and diagnosis.
“I got talking to Andrew Forbes, the leader of the team from the University of Iowa, and he told me about the difficulties they were having,” Nastasi said.
“And since my area of expertise is the identification, description and diagnosis of these little wasps, he asked if it was possible for me to join in and find out exactly what was going on.”
Identifying new honey buzzards
Nastasi combined biological and molecular information from the team’s previous research with his own anatomical and physical signature insect analysis. This layered approach led to surprising findings.
“We found that some of the insects that were thought to be a single species were actually two independent species, and that using just the molecular data did not sufficiently separate them into multiple species,” Nastasi said.
“We had to combine that information with this new morphological analysis, and by combining that kind of data we were able to get a clear picture of what each of these species is.”
Stories behind the thieving wasps
Once the species were accurately categorized, it was time to name them. The scientists named a wasp with a penchant for stealing Ceroptres selinae after Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman from DC Comics.
The experts named a species with a treacherous streak Ceroptres bruti after Marcus Junius Brutus, the infamous traitor to Julius Caesar.
A third wasp was named Ceroptres soloi, after Hans Solo, the charming villain and thief from the Star Wars franchise. Nastasi and his team said the naming process itself was creatively stimulating.
“A lot of effort goes into identifying these species and there’s a lot of art in choosing a good species name, so it was exciting to illustrate that and very carefully select names for these new species,” Nastasi said.
Our understanding of these little creatures is just beginning and there are still many mysteries to be discovered. In the future, researchers can take a closer look at the life cycles, biological traits, environment, and thieving strategies of gall wasps.
The research has been published in the journal Zootaxa.
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