Fossil-wasps
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.
Dryinus
pincer wasps
Dryinus is a cosmopolitan genus of dryinid parasitic wasps comprising over 340 fossil and extant species, making it the most diverse genus in the subfamily Dryininae. Species are distributed worldwide, with 103 species reported from the Neotropics alone. These wasps are ectoparasitoids of Hemiptera, particularly planthoppers and related groups. Females exhibit sexual dimorphism with a distinctive chelate (pincer-like) protarsus used in host capture.
Euparagiinae
Euparagiinae is a rare subfamily of wasps in the family Vespidae, containing a single extant genus Euparagiia. Once cosmopolitan in distribution dating back to the Early Cretaceous, the group is now geographically relict, restricted to desert regions of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. The subfamily is the sister group to all other Vespidae and possesses distinctive wing venation not found elsewhere in the family.
Heloridae
Heloridae is a family of parasitic wasps in the superfamily Proctotrupoidea. The family is represented by a single extant genus, Helorus, with approximately 12-18 species distributed worldwide. Extant members are solitary endoparasitoids of Chrysopidae (green lacewing) larvae. The family is notable for its extensive fossil record, with numerous extinct genera documented from Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits in Asia and Europe.
Pelecinidae
pelecinid wasps
Pelecinidae is a family of parasitic wasps in the superfamily Proctotrupoidea, containing only one living genus, Pelecinus, with three extant species restricted to the Americas. The family was highly diverse during the Cretaceous, with fossils from 43 species in a dozen genera found across North America, Europe, and Asia dating back to the early Cretaceous (121–124 mya). Today, the family is represented by a single genus with three species: Pelecinus polyturator (widespread from southern Canada through South America), P. thoracicus (Mexico), and P. dichrous (South America). All species are parasitoids of scarab beetle larvae.