Cuckoo wasp

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Cuckoo wasps
Temporal range: Aptian–Recent
Chrysidid wasp, m, left, Millard co., Utah 2020-08-17-14.00.49 ZS PMax UDR - Flickr - Sam Droege.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Superfamily: Chrysidoidea
Family: Chrysididae
Latreille, 1802
Subfamilies

Amiseginae
Chrysidinae
Cleptinae
Loboscelidiinae

Commonly known as cuckoo wasps or emerald wasps, the hymenopteran family Chrysididae is a very large cosmopolitan group (over 3000 described species) of parasitoid or kleptoparasitic wasps, often highly sculptured, [1] with brilliant metallic colors created by structural coloration. [2] They are most diverse in desert regions of the world, as they are typically associated with solitary bee and wasp species, which are also most diverse in such areas. Their brood parasitic lifestyle has led to the evolution of fascinating adaptations, including chemical mimicry of host odors by some species. [3]

Contents

Nomenclature

Chrysura refulgens Chrysis April 2008-1.jpg
Chrysura refulgens

The term "cuckoo wasp" refers to the cuckoo-like way in which wasps in the family lay eggs in the nests of unrelated host species. [1] The term is also used for some wasps outside of the family, such as Sapyga louisi . [4]

Chrysididae, the scientific name of the family, refers to their shiny bodies and is derived from Greek chrysis, chrysid-, "gold vessel, gold-embroidered dress", plus the familial suffix -idae. The common names of many species pay similar tribute to their appearance: jewel wasp, gold wasp, emerald wasp, ruby wasp and so on (cf. French guêpe de feu, "fire-wasp", and German / Dutch Goldwespe / goudwesp, "gold-wasp"). [5]

Ecology and behavior

Pseudospinolia neglecta Pseudochrysis neglecta f.png
Pseudospinolia neglecta

Members of the largest subfamily, Chrysidinae, are the most familiar; they are generally kleptoparasites, laying their eggs in host nests, where their larvae consume the host egg or larva while it is still young, then the food provided by the host for its own juvenile. Chrysidines are distinguished from the members of other subfamilies in that most have flattened or concave lower abdomens and can curl into a defensive ball ("volvation") when attacked by a potential host, in the manner of a pill bug. [1] Members of the other subfamilies are parasitoids of either sawflies or walking sticks and cannot fold up into a ball.

Chrysidids are always solitary. They fly mainly in the hottest and driest months of summer in subtropical and Mediterranean climates. They favor dry areas and sandy soils; many species are confined to a narrow type of microhabitat where adults may rest or find hosts to parasitize, for example on bare soil or on dead wood where other solitary wasps have their nest holes. Some species visit flowers such as of the Apiaceae, Asteraceae and Euphorbiaceae. [5]

Evolution

The fossil record of the group is fragmentary, the oldest fossil known being from the lower Aptian Turga Formation of Russia. [6] Other Cretaceous specimens are known from the Albian-Cenomanian amber of France, [7] a Cenomanian limestone in Morocco. [8] The upper Santonian Taimyr amber of Russia [9] and the upper Campanian Canadian amber. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sapygidae</span> Family of wasps

The Sapygidae are a family of solitary kleptoparasitic aculeate wasps. They are generally black wasps, similar in appearance to some Tiphiidae or Thynnidae, with white or yellow markings developed to various degrees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mymarommatoidea</span> Superfamily of wasps

The Mymarommatoidea are a very small superfamily of microscopic fairyfly-like parasitic wasps. It contains only a single living family, Mymarommatidae, and three other extinct families known from Cretaceous aged amber. Less than half of all described species are living taxa, but they are known from all parts of the world. Undoubtedly, many more await discovery, as they are easily overlooked and difficult to study due to their extremely small size.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gasteruptiidae</span> Family of wasps

The Gasteruptiidae are one of the more distinctive families among the apocritan wasps, with surprisingly little variation in appearance for a group that contains around 500 species in two subfamilies and with 6 genera worldwide. They are members of Evanioidea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chrysidinae</span> Subfamily of wasps

The subfamily Chrysidinae contains those species that are most commonly recognized as cuckoo wasps, being by far the largest and most familiar subfamily. The group contains 3000 species with 48 genera worldwide. They are highly sculptured, with brilliantly metallic-colored bodies, covering the entire spectrum, but primarily blues and greens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aulacidae</span> Family of wasps

The Aulacidae are a small, cosmopolitan family of wasps, with two extant genera containing some 200 known species. They are primarily endoparasitoids of wood wasps (Xiphydriidae) and xylophagous beetles. They are closely related to the family Gasteruptiidae, sharing the feature of having the first and second metasomal tergites fused, and having the head on a long pronotal "neck", though they are not nearly as slender and elongate as gasteruptiids, nor are their hind legs club-like, and they have more sculptured thoraces. They share the evanioid trait of having the metasoma attached very high above the hind coxae on the propodeum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evaniidae</span> Family of wasps

Evaniidae is a family of parasitoid wasps also known as ensign wasps, nightshade wasps, hatchet wasps, or cockroach egg parasitoid wasps. They number around 20 extant genera containing over 400 described species, and are found all over the world except in the polar regions. The larvae of these solitary wasps are parasitoids that feed on cockroaches and develop inside the egg-cases, or oothecae, of their hosts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wasp</span> Group of insects

A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. The wasps do not constitute a clade, a complete natural group with a single ancestor, as bees and ants are deeply nested within the wasps, having evolved from wasp ancestors. Wasps that are members of the clade Aculeata can sting their prey.

<i>Chrysis inaequalis</i> Species of wasp

Chrysis inaequalis is a species of cuckoo wasps. The species occurs in Central and Southern Europe and in the Near East. The head and the thorax are shiny metallic blue-green, while the abdomen is red. Adults grow up to 5–10 millimetres (0.20–0.39 in) long and can be encountered from late June to mid September, especially flying on sun-exposed walls, on rocks and on dead wood.

<i>Hedychrum rutilans</i> Species of wasp

Hedychrum rutilans is a species of cuckoo wasps. The species occurs primarily in Austria, Italy, Bulgaria, Greece, France, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and in North Africa. The head and thorax are metallic green with red spots, while the abdomen is red. The color is more green and partially golden in the male and more extensively golden-red in the female. The body is somewhat hairy.

<i>Burmomyrma</i> Genus of ants

Burmomyrma is an extinct genus of aculeate hymenopteran, suggested to be an ant. The genus contains a single described species, Burmomyrma rossi. Burmomyrma is known from a single Middle Cretaceous fossil which was found in Asia.

<i>Chrysis ignita</i> Species of wasp

Chrysis ignita is a species of cuckoo wasp. It is one of a group of species which are difficult to separate and which may be referred to as ruby-tailed wasps.

Serphitidae is a family of microscopic parasitic wasps known from the Cretaceous period.

<i>Chrysis viridula</i> Species of wasp

Chrysis viridula is a Western Palearctic species of cuckoo wasp, first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1761. Chrysis viridula is included in the genus Chrysis, and the family Chrysididae. It is a parasitoid of a number of species of eumenid wasp, mainly those in the genus Odynerus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embolemidae</span> Family of wasps

Embolemidae is a family of small solitary parasitoid wasps with around 70 species in 2 genera distributed around the world. The few species whose biology is known are parasites on planthopper nymphs of the families Achilidae and Cixiidae. There is debate regarding the status of the genus named Ampulicomorpha by Ashmead in 1893, generally considered now to be a junior synonym of Embolemus (e.g.,), though some authorities dispute this (e.g.,)

<i>Chrysura simplex</i> Species of wasp

Chrysura simplex is a species of cuckoo wasps, insects in the family Chrysididae.

<i>Chrysis angustula</i> Species of wasp

Chrysis angustula is a species of cuckoo wasps, insects in the family Chrysididae.

<i>Omalus aeneus</i> Species of wasp

Omalus aeneus is a species of cuckoo wasps belonging to the family Chrysididae.

<i>Omalus biaccinctus</i> Species of wasp

Omalus biaccinctus is a species of cuckoo wasps belonging to the family Chrysididae.

Jouault, Corentin; Rosse-Guillevic, Simon. "A new genus of praeaulacid wasp from the mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber (Myanmar)". Annales de Paléontologie. 109 (1): 102599. doi:10.1016/j.annpal.2023.102599.

<i>Chrysis fulgida</i> Species of insect

Chrysis fulgida, the ruby-tailed wasp, is a species of cuckoo wasp in the family Chrysididae.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Agnoli, Gian Luca; Rosa, Paolo (20 September 2013). "Chrysidid generalities". Chrysis.net. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  2. Agnoli, Gian Luca; Rosa, Paolo (20 September 2013). "Chrysidid coloration". Chrysis.net. Archived from the original on 28 December 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  3. Pauli, Thomas; Castillo‐Cajas, Ruth (25 August 2018). "Phylogenetic analysis of cuckoo wasps (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae) reveals a partially artificial classification at the genus level and a species‐rich clade of bee parasitoids". Systematic Entomology. 44 (2): 322–335. doi:10.1111/syen.12323.
  4. "Sapyga louisi Species Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  5. 1 2 Agnoli, Gian Luca; Rosa, Paolo (17 March 2013). "Chrysidids: Family overview". Chrysis.net. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  6. A. P. Rasnitsyn. 1990. Pozdne-Mezozoyskie Nasekomye Vostochnogo Zabaykal'ya. Akademiya Nauk SSSR, Trudy Paleontologicheskogo Instituta239:177-205
  7. Cockx, Pierre F.D.; McKellar, Ryan C.; Perrichot, Vincent (December 2016). "First records of the subfamilies Bethylinae (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) and Cleptinae (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae) in Upper Cretaceous amber from France" (PDF). Cretaceous Research. 68: 1–8. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2016.07.008.
  8. Martill, David M.; Ibrahim, Nizar; Brito, Paulo M.; Baider, Lahssen; Zhouri, Samir; Loveridge, Robert; Naish, Darren; Hing, Richard (August 2011). "A new Plattenkalk Konservat Lagerstätte in the Upper Cretaceous of Gara Sbaa, south-eastern Morocco". Cretaceous Research. 32 (4): 433–446. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2011.01.005. ISSN   0195-6671.
  9. H. E. Evans. 1973. Cretaceous aculeate wasps from Taimyr, Siberia (Hymenoptera). Psyche80:166-178
  10. H. E. Evans. 1969. Three new Cretaceous aculeate wasps (Hymenoptera). Psyche76:251-261