Alpana Mazumdar works on Indian Strepsiptera at the Department of Zoology, University of Burdwan. .

Strepsiptera are parasitoids exhibiting a unique degree of sexual dimorphism. The males are free-living, whereas the females are typically maggot-like and neotenic, living within the body of the host insects. First instar larvae of both sexes, however, are free-living and motile, seeking fresh hosts to parasitize. Strepsipterans are known to affect hosts in thirty five families belonging to six orders of Class Insecta. Parasitization by strepsipterans is also known as stylopization, and can grossly affect morphological characters and physiological activities of the hosts, often even causing sterility in the host. So far 585 species of strepsipterans, in 41 genera, have been recorded from around the world, including 21 Indian species.

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Address for Correspondence
Alpana Mazumdar
Department of Zoology,
University of Burdwan, Burdwan 713 104, WB.
Email: abhijitau@rediffmail.com