Cotesia ginginensis
| Cotesia ginginensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Braconidae |
| Genus: | Cotesia |
| Species: | C. ginginensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Cotesia ginginensis Fagan-Jeffries & Davies, 2025 | |
Cotesia ginginensis is a species of parasitoid wasp[1] from Australia. It was discovered in 2022 by a group of students in Queensland, and described in Canada in 2025.
History
In 2022, as part of a citizen science program, students from Gin Gin State High School in Gin Gin, Queensland, collected a female specimen of the then unknown species in a Malaise trap, describing it as "creepy".[1] Another specimen, also female, was collected from Prospect Creek State School in Prospect.[2] These were then sent to the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics in Ontario, Canada, where they were described, and their DNA was barcoded.[2] The species was named by and for the school community in Gin Gin, where the first specimen was found.[1][2] A male specimen of the species is yet to be found.[2]
Taxonomy
Cotesia ginginensis is different from other species in the Cotesia genus from Australia and Papua New Guinea in that its mesosoma is not flattened.[2] It has a black head, antennae and mesosoma, with the rest of the body being a yellow-dark brown colour.[2] The body length of the specimens collected were 2.7 millimetres (0.106 in), while the length from the head to the apex of the metasoma was 2.8 millimetres (0.110 in).[2]
References
- 1 2 3 Whiteside, Grace (23 July 2025). "Regional students find new 'creepy' wasp species". ABC News. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Fagan-Jeffries, Erinn; Davies, Emily; Howe, Andy (9 July 2025). "Cotesia ginginensis sp. nov., a new species of parasitoid wasp (Braconidae: Microgastrinae) from Queensland, Australia". Zootaxa. 5660 (2) (2nd ed.): 293–296. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5660.2.11.