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Subfamily Macrocentrinae

parasitoid wasps from green caterpillar - Macrocentrus Ichneumon Wasp? Tiny yellow Waspl - Macrocentrus - female Unknown insect type - Macrocentrus Small wasp? - Austrozele - female Small wasp - female Braconid Wasps Wasp species hanging out a leaf or two away from group of gregarious larvae (cateerpillars?) on Red Buckeye
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
No Taxon ("Parasitica" - Parasitoid Wasps)
Superfamily Ichneumonoidea (Braconid and Ichneumonid Wasps)
Family Braconidae (Braconid Wasps)
Subfamily Macrocentrinae
Explanation of Names
Macrocentrinae Förster 1863
Numbers
~48 spp. in 5 genera in our area.(1) Macrocentrus & Hymenochaonia are the dominant genera in the New World, the latter being mostly Neotropical(2); ~236 spp. in 7 genera total(3)
1. Austrozele (2 described spp.)*
2. Dolichozele (3 described spp.)*
3. Hymenochaonia (6 spp.)**
4. Macrocentrus (46 spp.)**
5. Pseudomacrocentrus (1 sp.)
___________________
*, ** Generic assignments between pairs often problematic.
Size
most >5 mm
Identification
Peg-like teeth on trochantellas of legs, including middle legs and hind legs.
Fore wing vein r-m present (absent in Charmontinae).
     

Overview of Genera (Females)
Most genera are separated most readily by a combination of ovipositor length and the laterope (depression) on the petiole.(2)(3) Males require additional traits and are often not identifiable from photos.(4)
Austrazele - ovipositor very short, laterope large and deep
Dolichozele - ovipositor very short, laterope absent or shallow
Hymenochaonia - ovipositor at least as long as the metasoma, laterope absent or shallow
Macrocentrus - ovipositor at least as long as the metasoma, laterope large and deep

Pseudomacrocentrus - distinguished by the "highly unusual foliaceous hind tibiae"(1)
Range
Worldwide. Macrocentrus is dominant in temperate North America.(2)
Food
hosts: Lepidoptera larvae
Life Cycle
Solitary or gregarious koinobiont endoparasitoids. Where known, gregarious species are polyembryonic, as are others. For example, in M. ancylivorus: although only 1 individual of this species emerges from its host, initial development is polyembryonic(2)
Remarks
Many species are pale, and either crepuscular or nocturnal.
Print References
For biological information, see:
Clausen, C.P. 1940. Entomophagous Insects. McGraw-Hill, New York and London. 688 pp.
Shaw, M.R. and T. Huddleston. 1991. Classification and biology of braconid wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects 7(11): 1‒126.
Daniel, D.M. 1932. Macrocentrus ancylivorus Rohwer, a polyembryonic braconid parasite of the Oriental fruit moth. New York State Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletin 187: 1‒101.
Ding, D., P.D. Swedenborg, and R.L. Jones. 1989. Chemical stimuli in host-seeking behavior of Macrocentrus grandii (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) Annals of the Entomological Society of America 82: 232‒236.
Works Cited
1.Revision of the subfamily Macrocentrinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in America north of Mexico
Kenneth R. Ahlstrom. 2005. Entomological Society of America: Monographs: Thomas Say Publications in Entomology, Volume 30.
2.Manual of the New World Genera of the Family Braconidae (Hymenoptera)
Wharton, R.A., P.M. Marsh, M.J. Sharkey (Eds). 1997. International Society of Hymenopterists.
3.Subfamily Macrocentrinae (M.J. Sharkey , R.A. Wharton, & C. van Achterberg)
4.Braconid?