Alysiinae

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Alysiinae
Braconidae-Alysiinae (Dacnusa sp. %3F) (9687650000).jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Braconidae
Subfamily: Alysiinae
Tribes

Alysiini
Dacnusini

The Alysiinae are a subfamily of braconid parasitoid wasps with over 1000 described species. Several species have been used in biocontrol programs. They are closely related to the Opiinae.

Contents

Description and distribution

Head of an Alysiinae wasp. The exodont mandibles are visible. Alysiinae 1 (16502314758).jpg
Head of an Alysiinae wasp. The exodont mandibles are visible.

Alysiinae are small wasps, usually under 5 mm long and black or brown in color. Their mandibles are exodont, opening outwards and not overlapping. This characteristic is essentially unique among braconids, with only a few rare exceptions (e.g., the genus Exodontiella in the subfamily Gnamptodontinae [1] ).

Alysiinae are found worldwide.

Biology

Alysiinae are koinobiont endoparasitoids of Cyclorrhapha Diptera. Females oviposit into host eggs or larvae. The host is allowed to develop until it forms a puparium, at which point it is killed by the wasp larva. The Alysiinae larva then pupates within the host puparium. Adults use their exodont mandibles to break free of the tough host puparium. Most species of Alysiinae are solitary, but a few are gregarious and lay multiple eggs within one host. [2]

Alysiinae P1310773a.jpg

Genera

These 43 genera belong to the subfamily Alysiinae:

Data sources: i = ITIS, [3] c = Catalogue of Life, [4] g = GBIF, [5] b = Bugguide.net [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ichneumonidae</span> Family of wasps

The Ichneumonidae, also known as the ichneumon wasps, Darwin wasps, or ichneumonids, 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 currently described. 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. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Braconidae</span> Family of wasps

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.

Perilampidae Family of wasps

The Perilampidae are a small family within the Chalcidoidea, composed mostly of hyperparasitoids. The family is closely related to the Eucharitidae, and the eucharitids appear to have evolved from within the Perilampidae, thus rendering the family paraphyletic. As presently defined, at least 15 genera and 270 species are described worldwide. They are often brilliantly metallic, with robust mesosomae and a small, triangular metasomae. They are generally very strongly sculptured. The prothorax is typically very broad and disc-like, and the labrum is multidigitate, a feature shared with the Eucharitidae.

Aphidiinae Subfamily of wasps

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.

Microgastrinae Subfamily of wasps

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.

Doryctinae Subfamily of wasps

The Doryctinae or doryctine wasps are a large subfamily of braconid parasitic wasps (Braconidae). Numerous genera and species formerly unknown to science are being described every year. This subfamily is presumably part of a clade containing otherwise any or all of the Alysiinae, Braconinae, Gnamptodontinae, Opiinae and Ypsistocerinae, and might be most closely related to the last one of these. Whether the Rogadinae are also part of this group is not known.

Euphorinae Subfamily of wasps

The Euphorinae are a large subfamily of Braconidae parasitoid wasps. Some species have been used for biological pest control. They are sister group to the Meteorinae.

<i>Dinotrema</i> Genus of wasps

Dinotrema is a genus of wasps in the family Braconidae. Species are amongst the largest parasitoid wasps in the tribe Alysiini (Alysiinae). There are approximately 350 species described around worldwide.

Opiinae Subfamily of wasps

The Opiinae are a subfamily of braconid parasitoid wasps with over 1300 described species. Several species have been used in biocontrol programs against fruit flies and Agromyzidae flies. They are closely related to the Alysiinae.

Rogadinae Subfamily of wasps

The Rogadinae are a large subfamily of braconid parasitoid wasps. Several Rogadinae species parasitize pest caterpillars and are important for naturally occurring biological control.

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.

Blacini Tribe of wasps

Blacini is a tribe of braconid Parasitoid wasps. Formerly the subfamily Blacinae, this group was demoted to a tribe and placed within the Brachistinae based on molecular evidence in 2011.

The Ichneutinae are a subfamily of braconid parasitoid wasps.

Brachistinae Subfamily of wasps

Brachistinae is a subfamily of braconid wasps in the family Braconidae.

<i>Trachionus</i> Genus of wasps

Trachionus is a genus of braconid wasps in the family Braconidae. There are about 13 described species in Trachionus.

Helconinae Subfamily of wasps

Helconinae is a subfamily of braconid wasps in the family Braconidae. This is a large subfamily with many changes to classification and included groups over the years. There are about 40 genera worldwide in this subfamily.

<i>Colastes</i> Genus of wasps

Colastes is a genus of braconid wasps in the family Braconidae. There are at least 80 described species in Colastes.

<i>Protapanteles</i> Genus of wasps

Protapanteles is a genus of braconid wasps in the family Braconidae. There are more than 20 described species in Protapanteles, found mainly in the Holarctic.

Rasivalva is a genus of braconid wasps in the family Braconidae. There are about 12 described species in Rasivalva. They are found mainly in the Holarctic, although one species is found in Africa.

Hormius is a genus of parasitoid wasp in the subfamily Hormiinae first described by Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck in 1818.

References

  1. Wharton, R.A., Yoder, M.J., Gillespie, J.J., Patton, J.C. and Honeycutt, R.L. (2006) Relationships of Exodontiella, a non-alysiine, exodont member of the family Braconidae (Insecta, Hymenoptera). Zoologica Scripta 35: 323-340. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1463-6409.2006.00236.x
  2. Wharton, Robert A.; Marsh, Paul M.; Sharkey, Michael J. (1997). Manual of the New World Genera of the Family Braconidae (Hymenoptera). Washington DC: The International Society of Hymenopterists.
  3. "ITIS, Integrated Taxonomic Information System" . Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  4. "Catalogue of Life" . Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  5. "GBIF" . Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  6. "Alysiinae Subfamily Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2018-05-14.