KomBioTa doctoral candidate Marina Moser discovers new species of wasp [28.04.23]
At Thursday, 27 April, the discovery of a new wasp species by doctoral candidate Marina Moser of the State Natural History Museum Stuttgart was publicly announced at a ceremony. In the presence of Minister President Winfried Kretschmann and the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Energy Economy, Thekla Walker, the tiny wasp measuring only a few micrometers was named "Aphanogmus kretschmanni”.
Prime Minister Kretschmann and Marina Moser with the model of the wasp Aphanogmus kretschmanni (Photo: SMNS / M. Kovalenko).
The new species of wasp was discovered during a field survey at Hirschauer Berg, a nature reserve near Tübingen. The insect belongs to the Ceraphronoidea family and is classified as a parasitoid wasp, which requires a host to survive. Its small size and the series of spines lined up on its abdomen make it particularly distinctive.
For any entomologist, discovering a new species is a special highlight in their scientific career. Marina Moser, who is in the final stages of her PhD program "Biodiversity in the Changing Times", named her new species of wasp Aphanogmus kretschmanni in honor of Baden-Württemberg's Minister President Winfried Kretschmann. With this name, she honored his dedication to biodiversity.
The discovery was published under the title "Surprising morphological diversity in ceraphronid wasps revealed by a distinctive new species of Aphanogmus (Hymenoptera: Ceraphronoidea)" in the European Journal of Taxonomy.
The wasp Aphanogmus kretschmanni (Photo: SMNS / M. Moser).
The public was informed about the discovery by media such as through Tagesschau or SWR.
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