Pelecinus

Pelecinus
Pelecinus polyturator
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Superfamily:	Proctotrupoidea
Family:	Pelecinidae
Genus:	Pelecinus Latreille, 1800
Species
Pelecinus dichrous Perty, 1833 Pelecinus polyturator (Drury, 1773) Pelecinus thoracicus Klug, 1841

The genus Pelecinus is the only living member of the family Pelecinidae (there are also many fossil genera), ^[1] and contains only three species, restricted to the New World. One species, Pelecinus polyturator , occurs from North through South America, and the others occur in Mexico ( Pelecinus thoracicus ) and South America ( Pelecinus dichrous ). The females are glossy wasps, very long (up to 7 cm) and the abdomen is extremely attenuated, used to lay eggs directly on scarab larvae buried in the soil. ^[2]

References

1. Michael S. Engel; David A. Grimaldi (June 2006). "A Diminutive Pelecinid Wasp in Cretaceous Amber from New Jersey (Hymenoptera: Pelecinidae)". Northeastern Naturalist. 13 (2): 291–297. doi:10.1656/1092-6194(2006)13[291:ADPWIC]2.0.CO;2. ISSN   1092-6194. Wikidata   Q54610857.
2. N.F. Johnson; L. Musetti (October 1999). "Revision of the proctotrupoid genus Pelecinus Latreille (Hymenoptera: Pelecinidae)". Journal of Natural History . 33 (10): 1513–1543. doi:10.1080/002229399299879. ISSN   0022-2933. Wikidata   Q60357693.