Auchenorrhyncha-parasitoid
Guides
Chrysidoidea
Cuckoo Wasps and Allies
Chrysidoidea is a large, cosmopolitan superfamily of aculeate wasps comprising approximately 6,000 described species across seven extant families. The group includes three large, common families—Bethylidae, Chrysididae (cuckoo wasps), and Dryinidae—and four small, rare families—Embolemidae, Plumariidae, Sclerogibbidae, and Scolebythidae. All members are parasitoids or cleptoparasites of other insects. The superfamily is traditionally considered the basal taxon within Aculeata, with some species capable of stinging though their venom is harmless to humans. Members of Dryinidae and Embolemidae exhibit a unique life cycle where larvae begin development inside the host body and later form an external sac (thylacium) protruding from the host abdomen.
Deinodryinus
Deinodryinus is a genus of dryinid wasps established by Perkins in 1907. The genus contains at least five described species distributed across multiple continents, including Madagascar, Brazil, and Mexico. Members are parasitoid wasps, though specific host associations remain largely undocumented. The genus exhibits an almost cosmopolitan distribution pattern.
Lonchodryinus
Lonchodryinus is a genus of wasps in the family Dryinidae (Hymenoptera), established by Kieffer in 1905. Species in this genus are distributed across the Nearctic and Palearctic regions, with documented occurrences in North America, Japan, and northern Europe including Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. The genus is taxonomically characterized by specific morphological traits of the head and scutum sculpture, with recent taxonomic revisions clarifying Nearctic species boundaries and the first description of the female of L. woodi from Norway.