University of Adelaide researchers were inspired by everything from classic snacks to Doctor Who when naming 10 new species of parasitic wasps. “I named one wasp Sathon oreo [pictured], as the antennae are…
University of Adelaide researchers were inspired by everything from classic snacks to Doctor Who when naming 10 new species of parasitic wasps.
“I named one wasp Sathon oreo [pictured], as the antennae are dark brown with a thick white stripe in the middle—like an Oreo chocolate biscuit,” according to Erinn Fagan-Jeffries, a PhD student in the School of Biological Sciences.
And the Choeras zygon wasp, which inject their eggs into live caterpillars then let the babies eat their way out, was christened after an extraterrestrial race of shapeshifting villains from Doctor Who.
“Zygon aliens consume their host whilst inhabiting them, a trait particularly relevant to parasitic wasps,” Fagan-Jeffries explained.
