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 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 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.
Megarhyssa, also known as giant ichneumonid wasps, giant ichneumons, or stump stabbers, is a genus of large ichneumon wasps, with some species known for having the longest ovipositors of any insects. They are idiobiont endoparasitoids of the larvae of wood-boring horntail wasps. The ovipositor can be mistaken for a large stinger. This is a genus of holometabolous insects within subfamily Rhyssinae that includes 37 species and belongs to Ichneumonidae, the family of wasps with the highest biodiversity in the world.
Lycorininae is a monotypic subfamily of ichneumon wasps. The mere thirty species or so comprise the single genus Lycorina. In older sources, they may be included in the Banchinae.
Acaenitinae is a subfamily of the parasitoid wasp family Ichneumonidae. Female Acaenitinae have a large triangular projecting genital plate.
The Labeninae is a subfamily within the parasitoid wasp family Ichneumonidae. The family is divided into 12 extant genera grouped within four tribes.
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.
Virgichneumon maculicauda is a species belonging to the family Ichneumonidae subfamily Ichneumoninae. It is a parasitoid of the Cinnabar moth.
Anomalon is a large genus of parasitoid wasps belonging to the family Ichneumonidae. This may be the only genus in the tribe Anomalonini, although Neogreeneia Viereck, 1912 is sometimes considered a valid genus of the tribe.
Idiogramma is a genus of wasp. It is the only extant genus in the tribe Idiogrammatini.
Trogus is a genus of parasitoid wasp found in the Holarctic and Neotropic regions. It is placed in the subfamily Ichneumoninae and the tribe Ichneumonini. Trogus species are parasites of larvae and pupae of the swallowtail butterfly family, Papilionidae. The genus consists of twelve extant and one extinct species.
Enicospilus is a genus of large Ichneumonidae wasps. They are unusual for wasps in that they fly at night and can be found near porch lights. While these wasps resemble crane flies with long legs and long, thin bodies, the presence of two sets of wings distinguishes them from the single pair of wings of Diptera. There are almost 700 described species of Enicospilus. They are larval parasitoids of Saturniidae.
Exetastes is a genus of parasitoid wasps belonging to the family Ichneumonidae.
Diphyus is a genus of parasitoid wasps belonging to the family Ichneumonidae.
Eriborus is a genus of parasitoid wasps belonging to the family Ichneumonidae.
Rhembobius is a genus of parasitoid wasps belonging to the family Ichneumonidae. They are parasitoids of pupal stage Syrphidae.
Heterischnus is a genus of parasitoid wasps belonging to the family Ichneumonidae.
Allomacrus is a genus of parasitoid wasps belonging to the family Ichneumonidae.
Netelia producta is a species of ichneumonid wasp in the subfamily Tryphoninae found in Australia.
