A team of Finnish scientists from the University of Turku discovered a new bumblebee species, Capitojoppa, in the Alpahuayo Mishana National Reserve in Peru. This rainforest is considered one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. To work published In the scientific journal ZooKeys.
Zoologists found that the discovered wasps of the Capitojoppa species belong to the Ichneummoninae subfamily and are distinguished by a large head. The insects themselves are large and brightly colored, and their larvae feed on caterpillars and pupae of butterflies and moths.
According to Professor Ilari Sjaaksjärvi, one of the authors of the study, the discovery of Capitojoppa hornets in the Alpahuayo-Michan forest is also interesting because experts continue to find new species there after 20 years of research.
“Allpahuayo Mishana is part of the Amazon with unprecedented biodiversity. Due to the complex geological history of the region, many different types of tropical forests grow in the reserve, and the species richness of many organisms remains the highest on Earth,” emphasized Ilari Säaksjärvi.
Previous scientists to create 16 new parasitic wasp species immediately appeared in six regions of Vietnam.