Pelecinidae

Definition

A family of parasitic wasps in the superfamily Proctotrupoidea, currently represented by a single living genus, Pelecinus, with three extant species in the Americas. Adults possess a diagnostic elongated, metasomal petiole that is strikingly long in females. Larvae are ectoparasitoids of coleopteran, dipteran, neuropteran, and symphytan larvae. The family shows high fossil diversity in the Cretaceous, with the oldest records from the Jurassic.

Etymology

From the type genus Pelecinus (Greek pelekys, 'axe'), alluding to the hatchet-like profile of the female abdomen

Example

Female pelecinids use their extraordinarily long, thread-like abdomens to probe soil and leaf litter, detecting and ovipositing into scarabaeid and other beetle grubs.

Related Terms

• Proctotrupoidea
• Parasitoid
• ectoparasitoid
• Pelecinus
• metasoma
• petiole

Usage Notes

Often mistaken for ichneumonids due to the elongated abdomen, but distinguished by the extremely long, uniformly slender petiole without a visible ovipositor sheath, and by the reduced wing venation. The fossil record includes diverse extinct genera not assignable to the modern Pelecinus.