Family Braconidae - Braconid Wasps

classification in the guide follows(1)

>1700 spp. in >200 genera of 36 subfamilies in our area; close to 20,000 spp. in >1000 genera of ~50 subfamilies worldwide. Ghahari et al. (2003) estimate 120,000 species.

subfamilies not yet in the guide:

rarely over 15 mm; smallest 1-3 mm

For more info see also Achterberg (1993)(2) and Wharton, Marsh, & Sharkey (1997)(3)

Diagrams of braconid body and wing morphology in (4)

Larval hosts include a variety of immature insects, which vary by group. A few common orders for hosts include Coleoptera, Diptera, and Lepidoptera; however, this is not exhaustive.

Many life histories adapted to parasitizing hosts as diverse as aphids, bark beetles, and foliage-feeding caterpillars. Many species are egg-larval parasitoids, laying eggs within host eggs and then not developing until the host is in the larval stage. Unlike ichneumon wasps, many pupate in silken cocoons outside the body of the host and others spin cocoons entirely apart from the host.(5) Also unlike ichneumonid wasps, very few braconids use host pupae to complete their life cycles, except for fly parasitoids in Alysiinae and Opiinae.

Examples of life cycles:

Interestingly, phytophagous primary gall-forming species exist, at least in the subfamily Doryctinae (Marsh, 1991).

Molecular evidence supports the monophyly of the cluster of subfamilies with cyclostome "mouth"(1) defined by the dorsoventrally short clypeus and the concave labrum, bordered ventrally by the mandibles:

Some species are used for pest control, especially in agriculture.

Marsh, P. M. 1991. Description of a phytophagous doryctinae braconid from Brazil (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 93:92-95.