Gregarious-development
Guides
Athrycia cinerea
Athrycia cinerea is a univoltine tachinid fly parasitoid native to North America, primarily associated with the bertha armyworm (Mamestra configurata) in Canadian rapeseed fields. Females oviposit on third through sixth instar host larvae, with parasite larvae typically developing gregariously and maturing on fifth and sixth instars. The species exhibits temperature-dependent pupal diapause, which is usually prevented at 25°C but occurs at 20°C.
Pristocera
Pristocera is a genus of chrysidoid wasps in the family Bethylidae, distributed across the Old World. Males are distinguished by a hypopygium split into two separate plates, while females possess petiolar flaps. The genus comprises numerous species, with documented diversity in Africa, Asia, and Papua New Guinea. At least one species, Pristocera rufa, is known to be a gregarious ectoparasitoid of weevil larvae.
Tetrastichinae
Tetrastichinae is one of the largest subfamilies of Eulophidae, containing over 100 genera and nearly 3,000 species of minute chalcid wasps. Members exhibit exceptionally diverse biology: most are parasitoids attacking hosts across 10 insect orders and over 100 families, including nematodes, mites, and spider eggs. Some species are phytophagous (typically as inquilines in galls), gall formers, or inquilines. Endoparasitism predominates over ectoparasitism, with both solitary and gregarious forms known; gregarious species may produce over 2,000 individuals from a single host. Reproduction is often by thelytokous parthenogenesis, though arrhenotoky occurs in some taxa.