''Idiogramma elbakyanae'' is a species of

parasitoid wasp Parasitoid wasps are a large group of hymenopteran superfamilies, with all but the wood wasps (Orussoidea) being in the wasp-waisted Apocrita. As parasitoids, they lay their eggs on or in the bodies of other arthropods, sooner or later causin ...

found in the Mexican state of

Tlaxcala Tlaxcala (; , ; from nah, Tlaxcallān ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipaliti ...

. The species was named and described by the Russian entomologist Andrey I. Khalaim. The description was published in a 2017 open access article co-authored with Mexican entomologist Enrique Ruíz-Cancino.

Etymology

Andrey I. Khalaim, an entomologist at the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across ...

, chose the specific name ''elbakyanae'' to honor Sci-Hub founder

Alexandra Elbakyan Alexandra Asanovna Elbakyan (russian: Алекса́ндра Аса́новна Элбакя́н, born 6 November 1988) is a Kazakhstani computer programmer and creator of the website Sci-Hub, which provides free access to research papers with ...

"in recognition of her contribution to making scientific knowledge available for all researchers". Elbakyan took offense to being the namesake of a "parasitic insect"; this in part led to her temporary shutdown of Sci-Hub in Russia. In a message which appeared when Russians attempted to visit Sci-Hub, she said that it was an "extreme injustice" to have the wasp named after her. Khalaim was surprised by her reaction, emphasizing he intended it to be an honor. He said he approves of Sci-Hub and regularly uses it himself. He also clarified that, as parasitoids kill their hosts, it should be more thought of as a

predatory Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

wasp, than a parasite.

Taxonomic history

The

type series In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes t ...

comprised a female

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of sever ...

and four male paratypes, all collected in 2016. The holotype and one paratype were deposited at National Autonomous University of Mexico; the other three paratypes were deposited at the

Autonomous University of Tamaulipas , mottoeng = Truth, Beauty, Probity , established = , type = Public university , rector = ING. José Andrés Suárez Fernández , faculty = , staff = , students = , undergrad ...

, the

Zoological Museum of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences The Zoological Museum of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences is a Russian museum devoted to zoology. It is located in Saint Petersburg, on Universitetskaya Embankment. It is one of the ten largest nature history museums ...

, and the

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...

Distribution

It is found in the central Mexican state of Tlaxcala. The type locality, where all specimens in the

were found, is in Nanacamilpa de Mariano Arista. The specimens were all caught in forest of pine and oak trees; the collection site was at an elevation of .

Description

''I. elbakyanae'' can be distinguished from the only other '' Idiogramma'' species in Mexico, '' I. comstockii'', in having a black or yellowish-brown face, a

mandible In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movable bone ...

which is significantly broader at its basal end than its apical end, and an ovipositor sheath which is 4.2 times the length of its hind tibia. The female has a body length of and a

forewing Insect wings are adult outgrowths of the insect exoskeleton that enable insects to fly. They are found on the second and third thoracic segments (the mesothorax and metathorax), and the two pairs are often referred to as the forewings and hindwi ...

length of .

Notes

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q38687253 Ichneumonidae Insects described in 2017 Endemic insects of Mexico Hymenoptera of North America Fauna of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt