Two new wasp species have been named in honor of late South African statesman Nelson Mandela and the Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
The two wasps, described by the study authors as ‘two entomological gems’, were found in the Western and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa.
“We respectfully dedicate this rare gem to ‘Madiba’ Nelson Mandela, for the enlightenment he brought to South Africa and the remainder of the world. Enkosi uhambe kakuhle Tata Madiba,” the authors Pascal Rousse and Simon van Noort said in the etymology (i.e. naming) part of the Belesica madiba species description.
Belesica madiba sp. nov.
The other new species Cremastus tutui was similarly honored with a dedication to Archbishop Desmond Tutu “one of four South Africans to have received the Nobel Peace prize, in acknowledgement of his life-long fight for Human rights”.
Cremastus tutui sp. nov.
Species from the genera (Belesica and Cremastus) to which the new species belong are rarely collected in Africa and comparative diagnosis were carried out “to distinguish each of these species from their single known sibling in Africa”.
Photographic methods were used to describe the new species.
*The study was published in the journal Zootaxa 3795(2): 161-173 “Belesica madiba and Cremastus tutui (Ichneumonidae: Cremastinae), two entomological gems from South Africa”