Thynnidae | |
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Male Agriomyia sp. feeding on nectar | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hymenoptera |
Superfamily: | Thynnoidea |
Family: | Thynnidae Shuckard, 1841 |
Subfamilies | |
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The Thynnidae (also known as thynnid wasps, flower wasps, or thynnid flower wasps) are a family of large, solitary wasps whose larvae are almost universally parasitoids of various beetle larvae, especially those in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea. Until recently, the constituents of this family were classified in the family Tiphiidae, but multiple studies have independently confirmed that thynnids are a separate lineage. [1] [2] [3]
Most species are small, but they can be up to 30 mm long.[ citation needed ] The females of some subfamilies (Diamminae, Methochinae, and most Thynninae) are wingless and hunt ground-dwelling (fossorial) beetle larvae, or (in one species) mole crickets. [4] The prey is paralysed with the female's sting, and an egg is laid on it so the wasp larva has a ready supply of food. In species where both sexes are winged, males are similar in size to the females, but are much more slender. The males of species with wingless females, however, are often much larger than the females and have wings; the adults mate in the air, with the female carried by the male's genitalia.[ citation needed ] Adults feed on nectar and are minor pollinators. [5] As some of the ground-dwelling scarab species attacked by thynnids are pests, some of these wasps are considered beneficial as biological control agents. [ citation needed ]
The family has five extant subfamilies, which were previously placed in Tiphiidae before it was found to be non-monophyletic. [1] Thynnidae genera are classified as follows: [1] [6] [3] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]
The following 4 genera are extinct members of Thynnidae: [17]
Tiger beetles are a family of beetles, Cicindelidae, known for their aggressive predatory habits and running speed. The fastest known species of tiger beetle, Rivacindela hudsoni, can run at a speed of 9 km/h, or about 125 body lengths per second. As of 2005, about 2,600 species and subspecies were known, with the richest diversity in the Oriental (Indo-Malayan) region, followed by the Neotropics. While historically treated as a subfamily of ground beetles (Carabidae) under the name Cicindelinae, several studies since 2020 indicated that they should be treated as a family, the Cicindelidae, which are a sister group to Carabidae within the Adephaga.
The Scoliidae, the scoliid wasps, are a family of wasps comprising about 560 species worldwide. They tend to be black, often marked with yellow or orange, and their wing tips are distinctively corrugated. Males are more slender and elongated than females, with significantly longer antennae, but the sexual dimorphism is not as apparent as in many of the Tiphiidae and Thynnidae.
Vespoidea is a superfamily of wasps in the order Hymenoptera. Vespoidea includes wasps with a large variety of lifestyles including eusocial, social, and solitary habits, predators, scavengers, parasitoids, and some herbivores.
The blue ant, also known as the blue-ant or bluebottle, is a species of flower wasp in the family Thynnidae. It is the sole member of the genus Diamma and of the subfamily Diamminae. Despite its common name and wingless body, it is not an ant but rather a species of large, solitary, parasitic wasp.
The Tiphiidae are a family of large, solitary wasps whose larvae are parasitoids of various beetle larvae, especially those in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea. Until recently, this family contained several additional subfamilies, but multiple studies have independently confirmed that these comprise a separate lineage, and are now classified in the family Thynnidae.
Rhopalosomatidae is a family of Hymenoptera containing about 68 extant species in four genera that are found worldwide. Three fossil genera are known.
Potter wasps, the Eumeninae, are a cosmopolitan wasp group presently treated as a subfamily of Vespidae, but sometimes recognized in the past as a separate family, Eumenidae.
Microgastrinae is a subfamily of braconid wasps, encompassing almost 3,000 described species, with an estimated 30,000–50,000 total species. This makes it one of the richest subfamilies with the most species of parasitoid wasps.
Delta is an Old World genus of potter wasps with species predominantly distributed through tropical Africa and Asia. Some species are present in the Palearctic region, and a few have been introduced in the Nearctic and Neotropical regions. The members of this genus have a long metasomal petiole, like members of the genera Eumenes and Zeta.
The Doryctinae or doryctine wasps are a large subfamily of parasitoid wasps within the family Braconidae.
Ireangelus is a genus of kleptoparasitic spider wasps from the sub-family Ceropalinae of the family Pompilidae. The genus has a pan tropical distribution, being known from Oriental, Neotropical, Australian, eastern Palearctic, and Madagascan Zoogeographic regions being best represented in the Neotropics. Irenangelus is closely related to the more widespread genus Ceropales, the two genera forming a monophyletic subfamily, Ceropalinae within the Pompilidae. This is regarded as the most basal grouping of the Pompilidae but this view is problematic because of the kleptoparasitic life history of the Ceropalines, it is now considered that they Ceropalines and other pompilids evolved from a common ectoparasitoid ancestor.
Brachycistidinae is a subfamily of the flower wasp family Tiphiidae that contains 10 genera and 85 species, and which is confined to the Nearctic zoogeographic region.
Tiphiinae is one of the two subfamilies of the flower wasp family Tiphiidae, the other being the Nearctic Brachycistidinae. Tiphiinae is the larger of the two and has a worldwide distribution.
Leucospis is a genus of wasps belonging to the family Leucospidae. Most species are brightly coloured with yellow and black patterning and about 2 cm long. They have characteristically enlarged femurs on the hind leg, with the lower margin toothed. The wings have a longitudinal fold and the long ovipositor is bent over their backs above the abdomen or metasoma. They are parasitic on wasps and solitary bees that construct cells and provision food for their offspring. The Leucospis larvae live and grow as ectoparasites of the host larvae. Usually, only one parasite emerges from a single cell. The genus Micrapion from South Africa is very closely related, and phylogenetic studies suggest merging of the two genera. The genus Leucospis is found across the world in the tropical regions.
Myzinum is a genus of wasps in the family Thynnidae. There are 63 species presently recognized in Myzinum. They measure 7–24 mm. They parasitize white grubs, including Phyllophaga. They are used as biological controls.
Myzinum obscurum is a species of wasp in the family Thynnidae. It is found in the Eastern United States.
Helconinae is a subfamily of braconid wasps in the family Braconidae.
Hyptia is a genus of ensign wasps in the family Evaniidae. There are at least 50 described species in Hyptia. Most Hyptia can be differentiated from other genera by heavily reduced venation of the forewings, wherein only one closed cell is present.
Loboscelidiinae is a small subfamily of cuckoo wasps in the family Chrysididae. There are 2 genera and more than 40 described species in Loboscelidiinae, and they are parasitoids of walking stick eggs.
Thynnus is a genus of wasps in the family Thynnidae.