Meringopus calescens | |
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Species: | M. calescens |
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Meringopus calescens (Gravenhorst, 1829) | |
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Meringopus calescens is a species of wasp belonging to the family Ichneumonidae first described by Johann Ludwig Christian Gravenhorst in 1829. [1]
This holarctic species is present in Afghanistan, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Germany, Greece, India, Iran, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Morocco, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey and United States. [2] [3]
Meringopus calescens can reach a length of about 16 millimetres (0.63 in) in females and about 15 millimetres (0.59 in) in males. These relatively large Ichneumonid have a black head and a well defined clypeus, with some heavy punctures. Thorax is black and sculptured. Mesoscutum is polished, with irregular punctures. Wings are quite infuscate. Legs show black coxae and trochanters, but the remaining parts are orange. Abdomen has a mostly fuscous 1st segment, 2nd and 3rd segments are orange, while the apical segments are mostly black. Ovipositor is slightly upcurved and can reach about 5 mm. [4]
These ichneumonid wasps have been observed apparently attempting to parasitize the sphecids Ammophila sabulosa and Podalonia affinis , but they also parasitize Saturnia pyri . [2] [5]
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 the ichneumon wasps, Darwin wasps, or ichneumonids, 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 currently described. 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. 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.
The Leucospidae are a specialized group of wasps within the superfamily Chalcidoidea, that are ectoparasitoids of aculeate wasps or bees. They are typically mimics of bees or stinging wasps, often black with yellow, red, or white markings, sometimes metallic, with a robust mesosoma and very strong sculpturing. The hind femora are often greatly enlarged, with a row of teeth or serrations along the lower margin as in Chalcididae. The wing has a longitudinal fold. The female ovipositor is sometimes short, but if not, it is recurved and lies along the dorsal side of the metasoma, a unique feature. The males are also unusual, in the fusion of many of the metasomal segments to form a capsule-like "carapace".
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.
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.
Polysphincta boops is a species belonging to the family Ichneumonidae subfamily Pimplinae.
Rhyssa persuasoria, also known as the sabre wasp, is a species belonging to the family Ichneumonidae subfamily Rhyssinae. Members of this subfamily, including those of Rhyssa and the allied Megarhyssa, are also known collectively as giant ichneumonid wasps or giant ichneumons.
Hemipenthes morio is a species of 'bee flies' belonging to the family Bombyliidae subfamily Anthracinae.
Ammophila sabulosa, the red-banded sand wasp, is a species of the subfamily Ammophilinae of the solitary hunting wasp family Sphecidae, also called digger wasps. Found across Eurasia, the parasitoid wasp is notable for the mass provisioning behaviour of the females, hunting caterpillars mainly on sunny days, paralysing them with a sting, and burying them in a burrow with a single egg. The species is also remarkable for the extent to which females parasitise their own species, either stealing prey from nests of other females to provision their own nests, or in brood parasitism, removing the other female's egg and laying one of her own instead.
Pimpla are a worldwide genus of the parasitic wasp family Ichneumonidae.
Agrothereutes abbreviatus is a species of parasitic wasp belonging to the family Ichneumonidae.
Acroricnus seductor is a species of wasp belonging to the family Ichneumonidae.
Cimbex quadrimaculatus is a species of sawflies in the family Cimbicidae.
Leucospis dorsigera is a species of wasp belonging to the family Leucospidae.
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.
Trogus is a genus of parasitoid wasp found in the Holarctic and Neotropic regions. It is placed in the subfamily Ichneumoninae. Trogus species are parasites of larvae and pupae of the swallowtail butterfly family, Papilionidae. The genus consists of twelve extant and one extinct species.
Tryphon rutilator is a species of the family Ichneumonidae, subfamily Tryphoninae.
Itoplectis is a genus of insect belonging to the family Ichneumonidae.
Callidora is a genus of parasitoid wasps belonging to the family Ichneumonidae and the subfamily Campopleginae. It is relatively species poor, with only five recognized species.