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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » "Parasitica" - Parasitoid Wasps » Platygastroidea » Scelionidae

Family Scelionidae

Classification · Explanation of Names · Identification · Food · Remarks · Works Cited
Tiniest Hymenopteran I've ever seen: Proctotrupoidea ??? - Baeus Cartoon Bug - Baeus Wasp - Trissolcus Wasp with long, thin antennae platygasterid - Duta virginiensis - female Parasitoid wasps, emerging from Pentatomidae eggs. Hymenoptera Macroteleia - female
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 Platygastroidea
Family Scelionidae
Explanation of Names
Scelionidae Haliday 1839
Identification
Terga 2 & 3 subequal in length, if tergum 2 much longer, then forewing with 2 veins(1)
Food
egg parasites; hosts include insects of at least 7 orders
Remarks
The mothering wasps often do stay with the parasitized eggs until they are emergent, mostly to keep other egg parasites away. They can be very common at the end of summer when egg numbers are at a peak. (Comment by Herschel Raney).
Some species are very host specific, others parasitize a wide range of hosts. Many species are used to control important pests, such as the spongy moth (Lymantria dispar), migratory locust (Locusta migratoria), Eurygaster integriceps, kissing bugs (Triatominae), and horse flies (Tabanus)
Works Cited
1.Hymenoptera of the world: an identification guide to families
Goulet H., Huber J., eds. 1993. Agriculture Canada Publication 1894/E. 668 pp.
Contributed by Charley Eiseman on 9 March, 2021 - 6:00am
Additional contributions by v belov, PaleoJon, Nathaniel Green
Last updated 16 August, 2024 - 6:41pm

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