All individuals of this subfamily are internal parasites of the order Lepidoptera. Although females lay one egg into either larvae or pupae, the offspring always emerge from the pupa. Ichneumoninae are endoparasitic idiobionts. An
idiobiont has a wide range of hosts and it eats, kills, or paralyzes the host immediately after oviposition therefore resulting in no continuation of development. An endoparasite feeds internally on its host whereas an ectoparasite feeds externally. Female Ichneumoninae look for hosts on the ground and have short ovipositors, possibly as a result of their host usually being a naked larvae. Typically, adult females hibernate and search for hosts in the spring.
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