In a significant entomological discovery, Indian researchers have identified a new ant species, Paraparatrechina neela, in the remote Siang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh. This bright metallic blue ant, barely 2mm long, marks the first addition to the Paraparatrechina genus in 121 years.
The discovery occurred during a survey to document a century-old scientific expedition. “We saw something spark in the twilight while exploring a tree hole about 10 feet up in a steep cattle track in Yinku village,” shared the researchers. They captured the insects with an aspirator and later identified them as ants.
Entomologists Dr. Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan and Sahanashree R from Bengaluru’s Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) teamed up with Aswaj Punnath from the University of Florida to document and describe the new ant species. Their findings were published in the open-access journal ZooKeys.
The team was part of the ‘Siang Expedition’, aimed at re-surveying the region’s biodiversity, following the century-old ‘Abhor expedition’. Funded by the National Geographic Society, the expedition has so far led to the discovery of a new subfamily, six new genera, and over 40 new insect species.
