[ Prafulla Kaman ]
PASIGHAT, 4 Nov: Evidence of a new fig wasp (insect) has been found in the natural vegetation of East Siang district for the first time.
This has been confirmed by former entomologist at the College of Horticulture & Forestry (CHF) here, Dr MM Kumawat, who had collected the wasp species from
the fruits of a weeping fig tree (Ficus benjamina) near the Pasighat airfield in 2019.
He had sent the insects to New Delhi-based Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) for identification.
Dr Kumawat, who is presently serving as a professor at the Agriculture University in Jodhpur (Rajasthan), informed that two IARI scientists – Dr Achintya Pramanik and Dr Debjani Dey – studied the morphology of the insect and finally reported it as a new species from India, and named it Sycoscapter benjaminae.
The new wasp species is named after its weeping fig host benjamina, found in Pasighat area, and the sample has been kept in the National Pusa Collection of the IARI.
Explaining the structural features of the host tree, Dr Kumawat said that weeping fig trees have no visible flowers and are considered to be wind-pollinated. “However, recent study has revealed that fig trees are pollinated by very small wasps,” he said.
According to botanists, “fig is the stem of a round inflorescence capsule that is enlarged and turned to fleshy, which surrounds the tiny flowers inside the fruit. Such unique flowers require a unique pollinator.”
Earlier, in 2017, a team of scientists from the CHF, led by Dr Kumawat, discovered the existence of a China beetle (Aristobia reticulator) in the orchards of Arunachal, which infested gooseberry and amla plants.
