"Attenboroughnculus tau is an enigmatic ichneumon wasp with a body just 3.5mm long. The species name, tau, refers to a striking T-shaped marking on the insect's abdomen. The specimen was collected in 1983 in the Valdivia province of Chile but lay forgotten in an unsorted drawer in the Natural History Museum until recently, when its unusual characteristics were spotted by Augustijn De Ketelaere, a volunteer, during a detailed examination of the ichneumonid collections."
"Dr Gavin Broad, principal curator for insects at the Natural History Museum, led the study of the newly described insect, which is so distinct from its closest relatives that it cannot logically fit into any established genus. When I was far too young, I learnt about taxonomy from David Attenborough's Life on Earth series and resolved to be a taxonomist."
"Nothing is yet known about the new species' habits or life-cycle, apart from that its eggs are laid inside another animal. One of its fairly close relatives in Australia attacks spider egg sacs so that could be what this group of species does, but who knows?"
The Natural History Museum in London honored Sir David Attenborough's 100th birthday by naming a new genus of parasitic wasp after him. The species, Attenboroughnculus tau, is a tiny ichneumon wasp measuring just 3.5mm long, distinguished by a T-shaped marking on its abdomen. The specimen was collected in Chile in 1983 but remained unexamined in museum drawers until a volunteer recently discovered it during a detailed review of ichneumonid collections. The insect is so distinct from related species that it cannot fit into any existing genus. Little is known about its behavior or life cycle, except that it lays eggs inside other animals, possibly spider egg sacs like some Australian relatives.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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