The superfamily Ichneumonoidea contains one extinct and three extant families, including the two largest families within Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae and Braconidae. The group is thought to contain as many as 100,000 species, many of which have not yet been described. Like other parasitoid wasps, they were long placed in the "Parasitica", variously considered as an infraorder or an unranked clade, now known to be paraphyletic.
The Ichneumonidae, also known as ichneumon wasps, ichneumonid wasps, ichneumonids, or Darwin wasps, are a family of parasitoid wasps of the insect order Hymenoptera. They are one of the most diverse groups within the Hymenoptera with roughly 25,000 species described as of 2016. However, this likely represents less than a quarter of their true richness as reliable estimates are lacking, along with much of the most basic knowledge about their ecology, distribution, and evolution. It is estimated that there are more species in this family than there are species of birds and mammals combined. Ichneumonid wasps, with very few exceptions, attack the immature stages of holometabolous insects and spiders, eventually killing their hosts. They thus fulfill an important role as regulators of insect populations, both in natural and semi-natural systems, making them promising agents for biological control.
Megarhyssa, also known as giant ichneumonid wasps, giant ichneumons, or stump stabbers, is a genus of large ichneumon wasps, with some species known for having the longest ovipositors of any insects. They are idiobiont endoparasitoids of the larvae of wood-boring horntail wasps. The ovipositor can be mistaken for a large stinger.
Banchinae is a subfamily of ichneumonid parasitoid wasps containing about 1,500 species; the genera Glypta and Lissonota are very large. The three tribes are all distributed worldwide.
Pimplinae are a worldwide subfamily of the parasitic wasp family Ichneumonidae.
Megarhyssa macrurus, also known as the long-tailed giant ichneumonid wasp or long-tailed giant ichneumon wasp, is a species of large ichneumon wasp. It is a parasitoid, notable for its extremely long ovipositor which it uses to deposit an egg into a tunnel in dead wood bored by its host, the larva of a similarly large species of horntail.
Pimpla rufipes, the black slip wasp, is a species of wasp belonging to the family Ichneumonidae. It is distributed across Europe, Asia, and northern Africa.
Tromatobia is a genus of ichneumon wasps in the family Ichneumonidae. There are at least 4 described species in Tromatobia. Species in this genus are parasites of egg sacs of spiders from the families Araneidae, Clubionidae, Philodromidae and Theridiidae.
Trogus is a genus of parasitoid wasp found in the Holarctic and Neotropic regions. It is placed in the subfamily Ichneumoninae and the tribe Ichneumonini. Trogus species are parasites of larvae and pupae of the swallowtail butterfly family, Papilionidae. The genus consists of twelve extant and one extinct species.
Ephialtini is a unresolved tribe of ichneumon wasps in the family Ichneumonidae. There may be about 53 genera and at least 120 species in Ephialtini.
Exochus is a genus of ichneumon wasps in the family Ichneumonidae. There are at least 270 described species in Exochus.
Pimpla turionellae is a species of ichneumon wasp in the family Ichneumonidae. Its host is the larvae and pupae of Galleria mellonella
Triclistus pallipes is a species of ichneumon wasp in the family Ichneumonidae. It is a parasitoid of Epermenia chaerophyllella larvae and Swammerdamia pyrella cocoons
Zatypota percontatoria is a species of parasitoid wasps that is part of the order Hymenoptera and the family Ichneumonidae responsible for parasitizing arachnids, specifically those of the family Theridiidae.
Acrotaphus is a genus of ichneumon wasps in the family Ichneumonidae. There are about 26 described species in Acrotaphus. They are parasitoids of Araneidae and Tetragnathidae spider families.
Dolichomitus is a genus of ichneumon wasps in the family Ichneumonidae. There are at least 70 described species in Dolichomitus. The name is derived from the Greek dolicho, meaning long or narrow, and the Greek mitus, meaning a thread.
Compsocryptus is a genus of ichneumon wasps in the family Ichneumonidae.
Acrodactyla quadrisculpta is a species of parasitoid wasp belonging to the family Ichneumonidae.
Hymenoepimecis is a genus of parasitoid wasps belonging to the family Ichneumonidae best known for parasitizing arachnids, specifically those of the families Araneidae and Tetragnathidae.
