Irinjalakuda: A rare species of mantis fly (mantis lacewing) was discovered here by researchers at the Entomology Research Lab at Christ College. The scientific name of the newly discovered species is Mantispilla Indica.
The insects were sighted in the Mulankunnathukavu and Irinjalakkuda regions. The report on the species was first published in the national scientific publication “Journal of Threatened Taxa”.
Key contributors to the discovery are TB Suryanarayanan, a research scientist in the Department of Zoology, and Dr. Bijoy C, the research guide. Usually this new species was mistakenly identified as a praying mantis.