HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp

Clickable Guide

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

National Moth Week was July 23-31, 2022! See moth submissions.

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29

Photos of insects and people from the 2015 gathering in Wisconsin, July 10-12

Previous events

TaxonomyBrowse

Info

ImagesLinksBooksData

Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » "Parasitica" - Parasitoid Wasps » Aulacid, Ensign, and Gasteruptiid Wasps (Evanioidea) » Aulacid Wasps (Aulacidae)

Family Aulacidae - Aulacid Wasps

Classification · Numbers · Identification · Range · Habitat · Food · Remarks · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

Pristaulacus - Pristaulacus foxleei - female

Ichneumon Wasp - Pristaulacus foxleei - female

Help to ID please - Pristaulacus foxleei

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 Evanioidea (Aulacid, Ensign, and Gasteruptiid Wasps)

Family Aulacidae (Aulacid Wasps)

Numbers

32 extant spp. in 2 genera in our area(1)(2), ~170 described spp. in 3 genera worldwide + about as many undescribed(3)

1. Aulacus Jurine, 1807 (9 spp.)

2. Pristaulacus Kieffer, 1900 (23 spp. + 1 fossil sp.)

Identification

Resemble Gasteruptiidae, but our spp. are usually black with reddish abdomen, longer antennae, and two recurring veins in the front wing.

The genera are separated based on the following traits of wing venation:(3)

Aulacus - has a 2r-m vein and a longer 2-Rs+M vein.

Pristaulacus - lacks a 2r-m vein and has a shortened 2-Rs+M vein.

Range

most of the world, more diverse in the tropics(3)

Habitat

Adults usually found around logs where hosts occur

Food

endoparasitoids of the wood-boring larvae of beetles (of several families, but mostly longhorns) and Xiphydria wood wasps(3)

Remarks

Frequently mistaken for ichneumonid wasps as they often frequent dead standing trees, logs, woodpiles. Note "neck" between head and thorax and the high attachment point of the metasoma

Print References

Smith, A.S. 2008. Aulacidae of the southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central America (Hymenoptera). Beitrage zur Entomologie 58: 267-355.

Internet References

Tree of Life

Wikipedia

Townes, Henry. 1950. The Nearctic species of Gasteruptiidae (Hymenoptera). Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 100(3259)

Works Cited

1.	World catalog of the family Aulacidae (Hymenoptera) Smith D.R. 2001. Contributions on Entomology, International 4: 263-319.

2.	Aulacidae of the southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central America David R. Smith. 2008. Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 58 (2): 267-355.

3.	Aulacidae, by J.T. Jennings & A.R. Deans (in The Tree of Life Web Project)

Contributed by Eric R. Eaton on 8 September, 2006 - 3:47pm
Additional contributions by josephfortier, Beatriz Moisset, Bbarnd, v belov, PaleoJon
Last updated 12 January, 2022 - 10:33pm

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2023 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Printer Friendly Version