For a while, the thieves had experts stumped, until a series of scientific experiments gave them away… <\/p>
A recent study led by a graduate student at Penn State has uncovered 22 new species of gall wasps \u2013 tiny insects that live in strange growths on plants<\/strong> called galls, which they steal from other wasps. <\/strong><\/p> These newly identified species, which nearly double the known number in their genus, have been given playful names inspired by legendary thieves and tricksters from history, mythology and pop culture.<\/p> Among them is\u00a0Ceroptres promethei<\/em>, named after Prometheus, the mythic figure who stole fire from the gods, a nod to the wasp\u2019s fiery red colouring. Another is\u00a0Ceroptres selinae<\/em>, after Selina Kyle (Catwoman), and then there\u2019s\u00a0Ceroptres soloi<\/em>, honouring Han Solo, the iconic smuggler from\u00a0Star Wars<\/a><\/em>.<\/p> The discovery, published in the journal\u00a0Zootaxa<\/a><\/em>, opens new doors for research into these understudied insects. \u201cBy naming these species, we give other researchers an anchor they can carry forward to other studies because now they can identify wasps that were previously unknown,\u201d says lead author Louis Nastasi, a doctoral student in entomology at Penn State. <\/p> \u201cIt provides a base and a tool kit for future work that could help us understand these species and their ecosystems more broadly.\u201d<\/p> The project began when a team studying gall wasps’ evolution hit a roadblock \u2013 they had DNA samples but couldn\u2019t match them to known species. <\/p> Nastasi, who specialises in species identification, was brought in to help. After combining molecular data with his own analysis of the wasps’ physical traits, he discovered that the samples belonged to entirely new species.<\/p> It turns out that some of the wasps thought to be one species were actually two distinct species, Nastasi explains. Only by combining DNA data with detailed physical analysis could they properly distinguish them.<\/p> Once the species were identified, the fun began \u2013 naming them.\u00a0Ceroptres bruti<\/em>, for example, is named after Marcus Junius Brutus, the Roman senator who betrayed Julius Caesar.<\/p> While the names might be playful, the work is serious. Gall wasps remain largely mysterious, with many species still sitting in museum drawers awaiting identification. <\/p> \u201cWe know they live in these galls, and we know which galls they live in, but there\u2019s still so much we don\u2019t know,\u201d Nastasi says. \u201cFor instance, how do they actually use the contents of the gall to feed themselves? It\u2019s going to be interesting to see how our new species inform both future species discovery studies and research on the wasps themselves.\u201d<\/p> The research is a stepping stone toward future studies, which could uncover even more species and shed light on the biology of these fascinating, thieving insects.<\/p> Find out more about the study One must imagine Sisyphus happy: Integrative taxonomic characterization of 22 new Ceroptres species (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Ceroptresini)<\/a><\/em><\/p> More amazing wildlife stories from around the world<\/strong><\/p> For a while, the thieves had experts stumped, until a series of scientific experiments gave them away… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":42996,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/10\/22-notorious-thieves-found-hiding-in-pennsylvania-but-its-not-what-you-think.jpg",2127,1409,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/10\/22-notorious-thieves-found-hiding-in-pennsylvania-but-its-not-what-you-think-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/10\/22-notorious-thieves-found-hiding-in-pennsylvania-but-its-not-what-you-think-300x199.jpg",300,199,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/10\/22-notorious-thieves-found-hiding-in-pennsylvania-but-its-not-what-you-think-768x509.jpg",768,509,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/10\/22-notorious-thieves-found-hiding-in-pennsylvania-but-its-not-what-you-think-1024x678.jpg",800,530,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/10\/22-notorious-thieves-found-hiding-in-pennsylvania-but-its-not-what-you-think-1536x1018.jpg",1536,1018,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/10\/22-notorious-thieves-found-hiding-in-pennsylvania-but-its-not-what-you-think-2048x1357.jpg",2048,1357,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"For a while, the thieves had experts stumped, until a series of scientific experiments gave them away...","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/42995"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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