Trachypetinae | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hymenoptera |
Family: | Braconidae |
Subfamily: | Trachypetinae Schulz, 1911 |
Genera | |
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Trachypetinae is a subfamily of the wasp family Braconidae, comprising three rare Australian genera of large parasitoid wasps. The subfamily was raised to family rank as Trachypetidae in 2020, but was reduced back to a subfamily in 2022. [1]
Apocrita is a suborder of insects in the order Hymenoptera. It includes wasps, bees, and ants, and consists of many families. It contains the most advanced hymenopterans and is distinguished from Symphyta by the narrow "waist" (petiole) formed between the first two segments of the actual abdomen; the first abdominal segment is fused to the thorax, and is called the propodeum. Therefore, it is general practice, when discussing the body of an apocritan in a technical sense, to refer to the mesosoma and metasoma rather than the "thorax" and "abdomen", respectively. The evolution of a constricted waist was an important adaption for the parasitoid lifestyle of the ancestral apocritan, allowing more maneuverability of the female's ovipositor. The ovipositor either extends freely or is retracted, and may be developed into a stinger for both defense and paralyzing prey. Larvae are legless and blind, and either feed inside a host or in a nest cell provisioned by their mothers.
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 play an important role as regulators of insect populations, both in natural and semi-natural systems, making them promising agents for biological control.
Polydnaviriformidae ( PDV) is a family of insect viriforms; members are known as polydnaviruses. There are two genera in the family: Bracoform and Ichnoviriform. Polydnaviruses form a symbiotic relationship with parasitoid wasps. Ichnoviriforms (IV) occur in Ichneumonid wasps and Bracoviriforms (BV) in Braconid wasps. The larvae of wasps in both of those groups are themselves parasitic on Lepidoptera, and the polydnaviruses are important in circumventing the immune response of their parasitized hosts. Little or no sequence homology exists between BV and IV, suggesting that the two genera have been evolving independently for a long time.
The Braconidae are a family of parasitoid wasps. After the closely related Ichneumonidae, braconids make up the second-largest family in the order Hymenoptera, with about 17,000 recognized species and many thousands more undescribed. One analysis estimated a total between 30,000 and 50,000, and another provided a narrower estimate between 42,000 and 43,000 species.
Parasitoid wasps are a large group of hymenopteran superfamilies, with all but the wood wasps (Orussoidea) being in the wasp-waisted Apocrita. As parasitoids, they lay their eggs on or in the bodies of other arthropods, sooner or later causing the death of these hosts. Different species specialise in hosts from different insect orders, most often Lepidoptera, though some select beetles, flies, or bugs; the spider wasps (Pompilidae) exclusively attack spiders.
The Aphidiinae are a subfamily of tiny parasitoid wasps that use aphids as their hosts. Several species have been used in biological control programs of various aphids.
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.
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.
The Cheloninae are a cosmopolitan subfamily of braconid parasitoid wasps.
Adeliini is a tribe of braconid wasps within the subfamily Cheloninae. Until 2016, Adeliini was classified as a separate subfamily, the Adeliinae. They are small, stout-bodied braconids that parasitize the larvae of leaf-mining moths. Despite being widespread, they tend to be rare in entomological collections.
The Cardiochilinae are a subfamily of braconid parasitoid wasps. This subfamily has been treated as a tribe of Microgastrinae in the past. Some species including Toxoneuron nigriceps have been used in biocontrol programs.
The Homolobinae are a subfamily of braconid parasitoid wasps.
Dirrhope is the only extant genus in the subfamily Dirrhopinae of braconid parasitoid wasps. Dirrope was included in the Microgastrinae until 1984. Specimens of this genus have been found fossilsed in amber dating from the Cretaceous period.
Blacini is a tribe of braconid Parasitoid wasps.
Meteorinae is a subfamily of braconid parasitoid wasps; however, since 2015, most scientists have treated this clade as the Tribe Meteorini in Euphorinae. Several species have been used in biological control programs. The name for this group comes from the pupal stage, which, in species attacking Lepidopteran hosts, hangs suspended from a long thread of silk.
Brachistinae is a subfamily of braconid wasps in the family Braconidae.
Helconinae is a subfamily of braconid wasps in the family Braconidae.
Stiropiini is a tribe of parasitoid wasp in the family Braconidae. It is represented across the New World. It is the second tribe to diverge within the subfamily Rogadinae. Rogadini was the first to diverge.
Soraya is a bitypic genus of parasitoid wasp in the family Braconidae. It is represented in Brazil. As of the description of the genus in 2024, it holds two species.