Orussidae

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Orussidae
Temporal range: Turonian-Present
Orussus abietinus (Hymenoptera- Orussidae) - a parasitic wood wasp ! (10136426163) (cropped).jpg
Orussus abietinus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Superfamily: Orussoidea
Family: Orussidae
Newman, 1834
Orussus abietinus; Narew river near Pultusk, Poland Orussus abietinus, a parasitic wood wasp.jpg
Orussus abietinus; Narew river near Pułtusk, Poland

The Orussidae or the parasitic wood wasps represent a small family of sawflies ("Symphyta"). Currently, about 93 extant and four fossil species are known. [1] They take a key position in phylogenetic analyses of Hymenoptera, because they form the sister taxon of the megadiverse apocritan wasps, and the common ancestor of Orussidae + Apocrita evolved parasitism for the first time in course of the evolution of the Hymenoptera. They are also the only sawflies with carnivorous larvae.

Contents

Description

Adults

The fully winged wasps are 2−23 mm long. They are predominantly black but species of Chalinus, Mocsarya and Orussobaius are more or less metallic. Some species have a red thorax or abdomen and conspicuous white or golden pilosity. Many Orussus species bear white spots on the legs. The antennae of males are composed of 11, those of females of 10 articles. The modified distal antennal articles of females (article 9 enlarged, article 10 very small) are involved in vibrational sounding to detect suitable oviposition sites and the host larvae living concealed inside wood. [2] Contrary to other "Symphyta", the antennae insert near the lower edge of the compound eyes and close to the mandible. The mandibles are orthognathous and lack evident teeth. The number of palpomeres of the maxilla and the labium varies and is used as a taxonomic character. On the wings, some cross-veins are reduced in comparison with the more complete venation of other basal Hymenoptera. Similar as in most other sawflies, the wings are held at rest with a device called "cenchri". The complete body is strongly sclerotized and bears a species-specific microstructure, which is relevant for species identification. The ovipositor is several times as long as the body, and at rest it extends inside the body from the abdomen to the prothorax, where it is coiled, and back towards the tip of the abdomen again.

Orussidae and Stephanidae are the sole Hymenoptera in which the head bears a corona of erect teeth around the frontal ocelli. Contrary to Orussidae, the Stephanidae lack cenchri, and their mesosoma and metasoma are separated by a wasp waist, which is absent in Orussidae.

Larvae

Similar to the larvae of apocritan Hymenoptera, larvae of Orussidae have reduced some morphological features as a result of their parasitic life style inside the tunnels of wood-boring insects. They are white, subcylindrical, weakly sclerotized with a distinct head capsule. The mouthparts are hypognathous. Eyes and legs are reduced or completely absent. The mandibles are well developed and strongly sclerotized. Palps of maxilla and labium lack. The surface of the body is subdivided into distinct segments, each bearing a transverse row of 8−10 backward pointing spines. [3]

Biology and behavior

Orussid wasps have been collected only rarely. Over the years, their abundance has been subject to strong fluctuations. [4] The species are thermophilous and wasps are active during the hottest hours of the day. Therefore, they are rarely found by the entomologists specialized in sawflies.

Only for few species the larval biology is known. Orussidae are parasitoids of xylobiontic larvae of beetles or Hymenoptera, particularly of the larvae of jewel beetles (Buprestidae), long-horned beetles (Cerambycidae), and wood wasps (Siricidae, Xiphydriidae). [5] [6] Orussids can be observed running around quickly on dead tree trunks. The females locate the host larvae living concealed inside wood by generating vibrations by tapping the tips of their antennae against the wood surface. The vibrations are picked up by the modified fore legs. [2] [7] After locating the host, the female drills into the wood with the very long ovipositor and lays the egg. The egg is very elongate with a small expansion on the anterior end and a long expansion on the posterior end. The egg is coiled on the host. [5] In some species the egg is possibly laid into the tunnel of the host if the host itself can not be reached, and the orussid larva itself crawls to the host. On its way to the host it may gnaw through the wood shavings left by the host. It has been disputed whether this material contributes to the nutrition of the larva. At least in Guiglia schauinslandi, the larva lives externally for its first two instars and then enters the putrid(?) liquid in the dead host, where it remains until the adult emerges. [5]

Systematics

Numerous morphological and genetic studies indicate that the Orussidae form the sister taxon of the Apocrita, the wasps, bees, and ants. [8] [9] Accordingly, parasitic life style has not evolved first in Apocrita but in the common ancestor of Orussidae + Apocrita.

Earlier, the Orussidae were sometimes put into a separate suborder, Idiogastra, [3] but today they are classified in their own superfamily, Orussoidea. [8] [10] Orussidae are demonstrably monophyletic. [8] Tribes and subfamilies within the Orussidae have been abandoned, since such earlier subdivisions could not be corroborated in phylogenetic analyses. [11]

The cladogram is based on Schulmeister 2003. The Orussoidea are sister to the Apocrita. [12] [13]

Hymenoptera, 250mya

Xyeloidea (Triassic-present) Xyelapusilla.jpg

Tenthredinoidea Diprionpini crop.jpg

Pamphilioidea Caenolyda reticulata.jpg

Cephoidea (stem sawflies) Hartigia linearis.jpg

Siricoidea (horntails or wood wasps) Hymenoptera Vielfalt Horntail.jpg

Xiphydrioidea (wood wasps) Xiphydria prolongata crop.jpg

parasitism

Orussoidea (parasitic wood wasps)

wasp waist 200mya

Apocrita (ants, bees, wasps) Specimen of Podalonia tydei (Le Guillou, 1841).jpg

Orussidae genera and species of the World

An identification key for the genera of the World was published by Vilhemsen (2003). [11] The following list summarizes the genera and species and their gross distribution together with indications on identification keys:

Orussidae of the United States, Canada and Great Britain

Twelve species of Orussidae are distributed in the United States and in Canada:

In Great Britain, Orussus abietinus (Scopoli, 1763) was recorded by Stephens (1835) [30] upon two specimens caught by William Elford Leach in Darenth Wood and Devonshire around 1817. Morice (1904) [31] recorded a more recent specimen taken at Hastings about 1880, but after re-examination this turned out to be Xiphydria prolongata (Geoffroy, 1785) (Xiphydriidae). [32] [33] Benson (1951) [34] supposed O. abietinus "to have occurred in Britain in former times."

Fossils

The oldest members of Orussoidea, the group containing Orussidae and its close relatives, are known from the Middle Jurassic Karabastau Formation of Kazakhstan. [35] The oldest known members of modern Orussidae are from the Late Cretaceous. Ophrynopus peritus Engel, 2008 was described from Dominican Amber, [36] Baltorussus velteni Schedl, 2011 from Baltic Amber, [15] Mesorussus taimyrensis Rasnitsyn, 1977 from the Late Cretaceous of Taimyr, Siberia [19] und Minyorussus luzzii Basibuyuk, Quicke & Rasnitsyn, 2000 from the Late Cretaceous of New Jersey. [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hymenoptera</span> Order of insects comprising sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants

Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typically have a special ovipositor for inserting eggs into hosts or places that are otherwise inaccessible. This ovipositor is often modified into a stinger. The young develop through holometabolism —that is, they have a wormlike larval stage and an inactive pupal stage before they mature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sawfly</span> Suborder of insects

Sawflies are the insects of the suborder Symphyta within the order Hymenoptera, alongside ants, bees, and wasps. The common name comes from the saw-like appearance of the ovipositor, which the females use to cut into the plants where they lay their eggs. The name is associated especially with the Tenthredinoidea, by far the largest superfamily in the suborder, with about 7,000 known species; in the entire suborder, there are 8,000 described species in more than 800 genera. Symphyta is paraphyletic, consisting of several basal groups within the order Hymenoptera, each one rooted inside the previous group, ending with the Apocrita which are not sawflies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horntail</span> Family of sawflies

Horntail or wood wasp are any of the 150 non-social species of the hymenopteran family Siricidae, a type of wood-eating sawfly. The common name "horntail" derives from the stout, spine-like structure at the end of the adult's abdomen, which is used to pierce the host's bark to allow the eggs to be inserted into the wood. A typical adult horntail is brown, blue, or black with yellow or red parts, and may often reach up to 4 cm (1.6 in) long. The pigeon horntail can grow up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long, among the longest of all Hymenoptera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexandr Rasnitsyn</span> Russian entomologist (born 1936)

Alexandr Pavlovich Rasnitsyn is a Russian entomologist, expert in palaeoentomology, and Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation (2001). His scientific interests are centered on the palaeontology, phylogeny, and taxonomy of hymenopteran insects and insects in general. He has also studied broader biological problems such as evolutionary theory, the principles of phylogenetics, taxonomy, nomenclature, and palaeoecology. He has published over 300 articles and books in several languages. In August 2008 he was awarded the Distinguished Research Medal of the International Society of Hymenopterists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orussoidea</span> Superfamily of sawflies

Orussoidea is a superfamily of sawflies. It contains the living family Orussidae, as well as the extinct families Burmorussidae and Paroryssidae. They are the group of sawflies closest to the Apocrita, the group containing wasps, bees and ants, with both groups together forming the clade Euhymenoptera. Like most members of Apocrita, but unlike other sawflies, members of the superfamily are parasitoids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anaxyelidae</span> Family of sawflies

Anaxyelidae is a family of incense cedar wood wasps in the order Hymenoptera. It contains only one living genus, Syntexis, which has only a single species, native to Western North America. Fossils of the family extend back to the Middle Jurassic, belonging to over a dozen extinct genera, with a particularly high diversity during the Early Cretaceous. Syntexis lay eggs in the sapwood of conifers, preferring recently burnt wood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xyelidae</span> Family of sawflies

The Xyelidae are a comparatively species-poor family of sawflies, comprising about 80 extant species in five genera worldwide, and is the only family in the superfamily Xyeloidea. The fossil record of the family is extensive, comprising more than 120 species and including the oldest fossil Hymenoptera species dating back to the Triassic, between 245 and 208 million years ago. Xyelidae are to be regarded as living fossils since they represent one of the oldest lineages of insects and include still extant forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cephoidea</span> Superfamily of sawflies

Cephoidea is a small superfamily within the Symphyta, commonly referred to as stem sawflies, containing some 100 species in 10 genera in the living family, Cephidae, plus another 17 genera in the extinct family Sepulcidae. Most species occur in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in Eurasia. The larvae are stem borers in various plants, especially grasses, but sometimes other herbaceous plants, shrubs, or trees. A few are pests of cereal grains. They are exceptionally slender for symphytans, often resembling other types of wasps, and they are the only Symphyta which lack cenchri. They are sometimes postulated to be the sister taxon to the Apocrita, though the Orussidae are more commonly considered such.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pamphiliidae</span> Family of sawflies

Pamphiliidae is a small wasp family within Symphyta, containing some 200 species from the temperate regions of North America and Eurasia. The larvae feed on plants, using silk to build webs or tents, or to roll leaves into tubes in which they feed, thus earning them the common names leaf-rolling sawflies or web-spinning sawflies. Some species are gregarious and the larvae live in large groups. Fossils of Pamphiliidae have been dated to the Jurassic period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tenthredinidae</span> Family of sawflies

Tenthredinidae is the largest family of sawflies, with well over 7,500 species worldwide, divided into 430 genera. Larvae are herbivores and typically feed on the foliage of trees and shrubs, with occasional exceptions that are leaf miners, stem borers, or gall makers. The larvae of externally feeding species resemble small caterpillars. As with all hymenopterans, common sawflies undergo complete metamorphosis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nematinae</span> Subfamily of sawflies

Nematinae is a subfamily of sawflies belonging to the family Tenthredinidae. It contains over 1250 described species in ~40 genera. Members of this subfamily feed on a wide range of plants and employ a wide range of feeding habits, both internally and externally, on their host plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allantinae</span> Subfamily of sawflies

Allantinae is a subfamily of sawflies in the family Tenthredinidae, and the largest subfamily of that family, with about 110 genera. The subfamily is considered to consist of five to six tribes, and are medium to large sawflies.

<i>Megalodontes</i> Genus of sawflies

Megalodontes is a genus of sawflies within the Symphyta belonging to the family Megalodontesidae subfamily Megalodontesinae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cephidae</span> Family of sawflies

Cephidae is a family of stem sawflies in the order Hymenoptera. There are about 27 genera and more than 160 described species in Cephidae.

<i>Monostegia</i> Genus of sawflies

Monostegia is a genus of sawfly. The authority is based on the description by Achille Costa and Oronzio Costa, although earlier work grants this to Fabricius 1798., though the most common species, M. abdominalis, bears the authority of Fabricius.

<i>Monsoma</i> Genus of sawflies

Monsoma is a genus of common sawflies in the family Tenthredinidae. There are at least two described species in Monsoma.

Orussus is a genus of parasitic wood wasps in the family Orussidae. There are about 30 described species in Orussus.

Karatavitidae is an extinct family of sawflies, known from the Jurassic period, they are the only members of the superfamily Karatavitoidea. While once proposed to be grouped with the Orussoidea in the infraorder Orussomorpha, they are now considered to be the closest relatives of clade containing Orussoidea and Apocrita. There are about 7 genera in Karatavitidae.

<i>Xyela</i> Genus of sawflies

Xyela is a genus of sawflies, belonging to the family Xyelidae.

Adamas is a genus of sawflies belonging to the family Tenthredinidae. It is sometimes referred to in the literature under the name Dinax, but this name is a junior homonym of a name validly published in 1848; claims that the 1848 name was not validly published have been subsequently refuted.

References

  1. 1 2 Blank, S.M., Groll, E.K., Liston, A.D., Prous, M. & Taeger, A. 2012: ECatSym - Electronic World Catalog of Symphyta (Insecta, Hymenoptera). Program version 4.0 beta, data version 39 (18. Dezember 2012). Digital Entomological Information, Müncheberg
  2. 1 2 Vilhelmsen, L., Isidoro, N., Romani, R., Basibuyuk, H.H. & Quicke, D.L.J. 2001: Host location and oviposition in a basal group of parasitic wasps: the subgenual organ, ovipositor apparatus and associated structures in the Orussidae (Hymenoptera, Insecta). Zoomorphology 121: 63-84.
  3. 1 2 Rohwer, S.A. & Cushman, R.A. 1917: Idiogastra, a new suborder of Hymenoptera with notes on the immature stages of Oryssus. Proceedings of the entomological Society of Washington 19(1-4): 89-98.
  4. ↑ Burger, F. & Taeger, A. 1994: Aktuelle Nachweise von Orussus abietinus (Scopoli, 1763) (Hymenoptera, Orussidae). Brandenburgische Entomologische Nachrichten 2(1): 61-62.
  5. 1 2 3 Rawlings, G.B. 1957: Guiglia schauinslandi (Ashmead) (Hym. Orussidae) a parasite of Sirex noctilio (Fabricius) in New Zealand. Entomologist 90(1125): 35-36.
  6. 1 2 Kraus, M. 1998: Die Orussidae Europas und des Nahen Ostens (Hymenoptera: Orussidae). Pp. 283-300. In: Taeger, A. & Blank, S. M. (eds): Pflanzenwespen Deutschlands (Hymenoptera, Symphyta). Kommentierte Bestandsaufnahme. Goecke & Evers, Keltern.
  7. ↑ Vilhelmsen, L. & Turrisi, G.F. 2011: Per arborem ad astra: Morphological adaptations to exploiting the woody habitat in the early evolution of Hymenoptera. Arthropod Structure & Development 40: 2-20. doi : 10.1016/j.asd.2010.10.001
  8. 1 2 3 Vilhelmsen, L. 2001: Phylogeny and classification of the extant basal lineages of the Hymenoptera (Insecta). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 131: 393-442.
  9. ↑ Sharkey, M.J., Carpenter, J.M., Vilhelmsen, L., Heraty, J., Liljeblad, J., Dowling, A.P.G., Schulmeister, S., Murray, D., Deans, A.R., Ronquist, F., Krogmann, L., Wheeler, W.C. 2012: Phylogenetic relationships among superfamilies of Hymenoptera. Cladistics 28: 80-112. doi : 10.1111/j.1096-0031.2011.00366.x
  10. ↑ Taeger, A., Blank, S.M. & Liston, A.D. 2010: World Catalog of Symphyta (Hymenoptera). Zootaxa 2580: 1-1064. Abstract
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Vilhelmsen, L. 2003: Phylogeny and classification of the Orussidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera), a basal parasitic wasp taxon. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 139: 337-418.
  12. ↑ Schulmeister, S. (2003). "Simultaneous analysis of basal Hymenoptera (Insecta), introducing robust-choice sensitivity analysis". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 79 (2): 245–275. doi: 10.1046/j.1095-8312.2003.00233.x .
  13. ↑ Schulmeister, S. "Symphyta" . Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Vilhelmsen, L. & Smith, D.R. 2002: Revision of the 'ophrynopine' genera Argentophrynopus gen. n., Guiglia Benson, Kulcania Benson, Ophrella Middlekauff, Ophrynon Middlekauff, Ophrynopus Konow, and Stirocorsia Konow (Hymenoptera: Orussidae). Insect Systematics & Evolution 33(4): 387-420.
  15. 1 2 Schedl, W. 2011: Eine Orussidae aus dem baltischen Bernstein (Hymenoptera: Symphyta). Zeitschrift der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Österreichischer Entomologen 63: 33-36.
  16. 1 2 Vilhelmsen, L. 2001: Systematic revision of the genera Chalinus Konow, 1897 and Mocsarya Konow, 1897 (Hymenoptera: Orussidae). Insect Systematics & Evolution 32: 361-380
  17. ↑ Vilhelmsen, L. 2005: Chalinus albitibialis, a new species of Orussidae (Insecta, Hymenoptera) from Morocco. Zootaxa 880: 1-7
  18. ↑ Vilhelmsen, L. 2007: The Phylogeny of Orussidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) Revisited. Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny 65: 111-118.
  19. 1 2 Rasnitsyn, A.P. 1977: Novye pereponchatokrylye iz jury i mela Azii. [New Hymenoptera from the Jurassic and Cretaceous of Asia.] (In Russian). Paleontologicheskij Zhurnal [1977](3): 98-108.
  20. 1 2 Basibuyuk, H.H., Quicke, D.L.J. & Rasnitsyn, A.P. 2000: A new genus of the Orussidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) from Late Cretaceous New Jersey amber. Pp. 305-311. In: Grimaldi, D. (ed.): Studies on Fossils in Amber, with Particular Reference to the Cretaceous of New Jersey. Leiden: Backhuys Publ.
  21. 1 2 3 Vilhelmsen, L., Blank, S.M., Costa, V.A., Alvarenga, T.M. & Smith, D.R. 2013: Phylogeny of the ophrynopine clade revisited: review of the parasitoid sawfly genera Ophrella Middlekauff, Ophrynopus Konow and Stirocorsia Konow (Hymenoptera: Orussidae). Invertebrate Systematics 27(4): 450-483. Abstract/PDF
  22. ↑ Vilhelmsen, L. (2016) A new species of Ophrella Middlekauff, 1985 (Hymenoptera, Orussidae) from French Guiana. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 51: 171-185. PDF
  23. 1 2 Blank, S.M. & Vilhelmsen, L. & Smith, D. R. 2010: Ophrynon (Hymenoptera: Orussidae) in California: diversity, distribution and phylogeny. Insect Systematics & Evolution 41: 3-27. Abstract
  24. ↑ Schmidt, S. & Vilhelmsen, L. 2002: Revision of the Australasian genus Orussobaius Benson (Hymenoptera: Symphyta: Orussidae). Australian Journal of Entomology 41: 226-235.
  25. ↑ Blank, S. M. & Vilhelmsen, L. 2016: Two new parasitoid wasp species of the Australasian genus Orussobaius (Hymenoptera: Orussidae). Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny 74(1): 83-103. PDF Archived 2016-09-16 at the Wayback Machine
  26. ↑ Schmidt, S. & Gibson, G.A.P. 2001: A New Species of the Genus Orussonia Riek and the Female of O. depressa Riek (Hymenoptera: Symphyta, Orussidae). Journal of Hymenoptera Research 10: 113-118.
  27. 1 2 Blank, S. M., Kraus, M. & Taeger, A. 2006: Orussus smithi sp. n. and Notes on Other West Palaearctic Orussidae (Hymenoptera). Pp. 265-278. In: Blank, S. M.; Schmidt, S. & Taeger, A. (eds): Recent Sawfly Research: Synthesis and Prospects. Goecke & Evers, Keltern.
  28. 1 2 Vilhelmsen, L., Blank S.M., Liu, Z.-W. & Smith, D.R. 2013: Discovery of new species confirms Oriental origin of Orussus Latreille (Hymenoptera: Orussidae). Insect Systematic & Evolution 44: 1-41. Abstract/PDF
  29. 1 2 Middlekauff, W.W. 1983: A Revision of the Sawfly Family Orussidae for North and Central America (Hymenoptera: Symphyta, Orussidae). University of California Publications in Entomology 101: 1-46.
  30. ↑ Stephens, J.F. 1835: Illustrations of British Entomology; or, a Synopsis of Indigenous Insects: containing their generic and specific distinctions;with an account of their metamorphosis, times of appearance, localities, food, and economy, as far as practicable. Mandibulata. Baldwin & Cradock, London 7: 1-312, tabs XXXV-XLVII.
  31. ↑ Morice, F.D. 1904: Help-notes towards the determination of British Tenthredinidae, &c. (8). Entomologist's Monthly Magazine, Second Series 40: 49-51.
  32. ↑ Benson, R. B. 1935: The alien element in the British sawfly fauna. Ann. appl. Ent. 22(4): 754-768.
  33. ↑ Benson, R.B. 1943: Some reputed British sawflies not found since Stephens's days (Hym., Symphyta). Entomologist's Monthly Magazine, Fourth Series 79(4): 5-7.
  34. ↑ Benson, R.B. 1951: Hymenoptera, Symphyta. Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects 6(2a): 1-49.
  35. ↑ Jouault, Corentin; Perrichot, Vincent; Nel, André (June 2021). "Taxonomic addition to the early diverged parasitic wasps (Hymenoptera: Orussoidea) from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber" (PDF). Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. 132 (3): 324–331. doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2021.02.002. S2CID   234848669.
  36. ↑ Engel, M. S. 2008: An orussid wood wasp in amber from the Dominican Republic (Hymenoptera: Orussidae). Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 111(1/2): 39-44.
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