Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada

Genus Enicospilus

Enicospilus Short-tailed Ichneumon Wasp - Enicospilus Ichneumon - Enicospilus - Enicospilus purgatus what is this - Enicospilus wasp - Enicospilus purgatus - female Enicospilus purgatus? - Enicospilus purgatus - female Red Wasp/Fly - Enicospilus Enicospilus americanus - 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 Ichneumonoidea (Braconid and Ichneumonid Wasps)
Family Ichneumonidae (Ichneumonid Wasps)
Subfamily Ophioninae (Short-tailed Ichneumonid Wasps)
Genus Enicospilus
Explanation of Names
Enicospilus Stephens 1835
Greek ἑνικός 'single' + σπῖλος 'spot'
Numbers
23 described spp. in our area arranged into 4 species groups(1)(2), ~700 total

undulatus group: americanus complex
1. Enicospilus aktites Gauld, 1988: s. FL
2. Enicospilus americanus (Christ, 1791): NS west to MN, south to FL, s. TX, & e. CA
3. Enicospilus cushmani Gauld, 1988: eastern North America
4. Enicospilus glabratus (Say, 1836): MD south to FL, west to s. CA
5. Enicospilus lebophagus Gauld, 1988: s. TX
6. Enicospilus peigleri Gauld, 1988: southern U.S.
7. Enicospilus sarukhani Gauld, 1988: CA
8. Enicospilus texanus (Ashmead, 1890): ne. CA, NY, OH, TX, sw. VA, WA

dispilus group
9. Enicospilus arcuatus (Felt, 1902): MA west to IL, south to GA & MI
10. Enicospilus cressoni: FL
11. Enicospilus fernaldi: FL
12. Enicospilus flavostigma Hooker, 1912: CA to FL, north to NS (BG + iNat data)
13. Enicospilus guatemalensis (Cameron, 1886): TX west to FL, north to WY, OK, KY, & NH (BG + iNat data)
14. Enicospilus opleri: FL
15. Enicospilus orosii: FL
16. Enicospilus ulfstrandi: FL, TX

ramidulus group
17. Enicospilus doylei: FL, LA
18. Enicospilus neotropicus: FL
19. Enicospilus purgatus: QC west to se. AK, south to FL, s. TX, & s. CA

trilineatus group
20. Enicospilus appendiculatus Felt, 1902: AL, FL, NC, NJ, SC
21. Enicospilus cubensis (Norton, 1863): FL
22. Enicospilus trilineatus Fabricius, 1775 (E. flavus auct.): FL, TX

??? - unknown to Gauld
23. Enicospilus bifoveolatus Brulle, 1846: PA
Identification
Some diagnostic characters for genus Enicospilus (cf. key and figures 16 & 25 in Broad(2006), and reference images here) are:
the discosubmarginal cell (horsehead-shaped cell below the leading wing edge) extends beyond vein 2m-cu;
transparent oval (inside discosubmarginal cell) in the otherwise papillate wing [note at least some Enicospilus spp. have two spots in this oval];
adventitious (or "spurious") vein in cell 3Cu, parallel to the wing margin.
See Also
compare wing venation: Ophion Enicospilus
Print References
Gauld I.D. (1988) The species of the Enicospilus americanus complex (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) in eastern North America. [b] Systematic Entomology 13: 31-53.