Srinagar, Oct 19: An international research team led by scientists from the University of Kashmir and SKUAST-K has discovered a new parasitoid wasp species, Homoporus tridentata, marking the first documented record of the genus Homoporus in northern India’s high-altitude regions.

The study, published in the Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society, involved researchers from King Saud University and Taif University in Saudi Arabia, highlighting international collaboration in exploring the Himalayan region’s biodiversity.
The discovery emerged from a multi-year biodiversity survey conducted between September 2014 and 2020 across Jammu and Kashmir. The researchers collected insect specimens from vegetation, including grasses, with the defining specimens found on the University of Kashmir campus.
Scientists at SKUAST-K subsequently examined the specimens using specialised microscopes, detailed measurements and photographic analysis. Their findings established that the insect possessed distinctive characteristics not previously documented in the genus.
The species was named Homoporus tridentata after its most striking feature—a three-toothed margin on the clypeus, the facial plate located above the mouthparts. The male specimen measures approximately 3.9 millimetres and has a metallic green head and thorax, copper-brown eyes and distinctive abdominal colouring.
Other identifying features include asymmetrical jaws, with four teeth on the right mandible and three on the left, as well as an unusually elongated marginal wing vein. These characteristics distinguish the species from closely related wasps, including Homoporus subniger.
The discovery adds to India’s biodiversity records and highlights the need for further research into the largely unexplored insect life of the Himalayas.
Researchers noted that parasitoid wasps of this genus attack the larval and pupal stages of various agricultural and forestry pests. Documenting such species could therefore support future biological pest-control strategies and conservation efforts in fragile mountain ecosystems.