Bitten by Brad Pitt It’s a new wasp

A new species of wasp has been named after the famous actor Brad Pitt.

An international resear-ch team discovered two new endoparasitic wasp species in South Africa and India and significantly expanded their genera’s distributional range.

While thinking of a name for one of the new wasps, Dr Buntika A. Butcher, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, recalled her long hours of studying in her laboratory right under the poster of her favourite film actor.

This is how a parasitic wasp from South Africa was named after Hollywood star Brad Pitt. The new wasp species, called Conobregma bradpitti, belongs to a large worldwide group of wasps parasitising in moth or butterfly caterpillars. Brad Pitt’s flying namesake is a tiny creature measuring less than 2 mm.

Its body is deep brown, nearly black in colour, while its head, antennae and legs are brown-yellow.

The wings stand out with their much brighter shades.