The Korea National Arboretum (KNA) of the Korea Forest Service announced that, in collaboration with the research team of Prof. Jongok Lim at Wonkwang University, it has discovered and reported to the academic community a new insect species of the family Bethylidae belonging to a previously unrecorded genus in Korea.

The species Bethylus colligatus was discovered in Yanggu, Gangwon State. It is a member of the family Bethylidae that parasitize the larvae of moths and beetles. The family Bethylidae is a relatively small group of parasitoid wasps in Korea with only 52 species recorded to date, and is recognized as a natural enemy resource for forest pest control.

Larvae of the family Bethylidae parasitize their hosts by attaching to the host body, and females lay a large number of eggs at one time. In some species, females exhibit unique behaviors such as caring for their larvae. The newly reported species (B. colligatus) was collected at the DMZ Botanic Garden, a branch of the KNA located in Yanggu, Gangwon State.

The research team assigned colligatus as a scientific name, meaning 'unity' in Latin to reflect the geographical significance of the collection site near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). This discovery is particularly significant as it is the first official record of the genus Bethylus in Korea. The research findings were published in Vol. 1238 (2025) of the international scientific journal Zookeys.

A research officer from the Forest Biodiversity Research Division of the Korea National Arboretum stated, "The DMZ border region is an area where insect surveys remain insufficient," adding that "this discovery of a new species highlights the importance of biodiversity research in the region." The officer further added that "with continued studies, additional insect species rarely observed elsewhere in Korea may be discovered in the future.