
Kozhikode: Chalybion gracile Hensen, a species of shiny, blue-coloured wasp, which is endemic to Sri Lanka, has been spotted in Kerala and Karnataka. This species of wasps are of the genus Chalybion Dahlbom and belong to the Sphecidae family.
They were collected and categorised from the Western Ghats by the researchers of Zoological Survey of India (ZSI). As per reports, the presence of Chalybion gracile has been confirmed in the Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka and Wayanad in Kerala.
An interesting characteristic of these wasps is that they use the old nests of other wasps for laying eggs.
The study was led by a team of researchers and scientists of the ZSI regional centre in Western Ghats namely S Anagha, Dr P Gireesh Kumar and Dr VD Hegde.
The research findings have been published in the new edition of the international peer-reviewed journal ‘Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics’.