Illidops tigris

A rare wasp species, Illidops tigris, has been documented within the Tugay forests of Tajikistan's Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve—a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This discovery, based on the examination of the holotype and supporting paratypes, highlights the region's biodiversity. The study relied on morphological analysis and historical records from Tobias & Kotenko (1986), with no molecular data available to date. While the host species remains unidentified, the distribution is confirmed in Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. This finding underscores the importance of protected areas like Tigrovaya Balka for conserving lesser-known taxa.

Höcherl, A., Kaliuzhna, M., Raupach, M. J., & Fernandez-Triana, J. L. (2025). Illidops tigris. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.18157326