Hyperparasite
Guides
Chalcidoidea
Chalcidoid Wasps, Chalcid Wasps, Jewel Wasps
Chalcidoidea is a superfamily of Hymenoptera containing over 22,500 described species, with an estimated true diversity exceeding 500,000 species. Members are commonly known as chalcidoid wasps or jewel wasps due to their often metallic coloration. They are predominantly parasitoid wasps that attack other insects to lay eggs upon or within hosts, with larvae feeding and developing at the host's expense. The group originated in the late Jurassic approximately 162 million years ago, with fossil evidence extending to 130 million years ago.
Epicaridea
crustacean isopods
Epicaridea is a suborder of parasitic marine isopods now classified within Cymothoida. Members are obligate ectoparasites of other crustaceans, including ostracods, copepods, barnacles, and malacostracans. The group exhibits extreme sexual dimorphism, with females typically becoming asymmetrical and losing segmentation while males remain small and morphologically distinct. Development proceeds through regressive metamorphosis involving two or three larval stages, including the distinctive cryptoniscus stage. Approximately 704 species have been described globally, though the group remains less studied than other isopod lineages.
Epidermoptidae
Epidermoptidae is a family of acariform mites in the order Sarcoptiformes. Members are permanent ectoparasites of birds and mammals, inhabiting skin surfaces and subcutaneous tissues. Several species are nostril specialists. Some genera have evolved phoretic associations with louse flies (Hippoboscidae), and certain species hyperparasitise these carriers, using them for oviposition and feeding. The family shows broad geographic distribution with records from Europe, North America, Australia, and the Galápagos Islands.
Perilampus auratus
Perilampus auratus is a minute parasitic wasp in the family Perilampidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea), measuring 1.3–5.5 millimeters in length. The species exhibits brilliant metallic coloration typical of the genus. As a member of Perilampidae, it is a hyperparasitoid, with larvae that parasitize other parasitic insects. New country records have been documented in Romania and Turkey, expanding its known Palaearctic distribution.
Perilampus fulvicornis
Perilampus fulvicornis is a small parasitoid wasp in the family Perilampidae, first described by Ashmead in 1886. The species exhibits the characteristic perilampid biology of hyperparasitism, with larvae developing as parasites of other parasitic insects. Adults are known for their compact size and often brilliant metallic coloration typical of the family. The species has been recorded across a broad geographic range in North America.
Perilampus prothoracicus
Perilampus prothoracicus is a small parasitoid wasp in the family Perilampidae, measuring 1.3–5.5 mm in length. The species exhibits the family's characteristic hyperparasitic lifestyle, with larvae typically parasitizing other parasitoid insects. Females broadcast eggs on vegetation, and the resulting mobile planidium larvae actively seek hosts by attaching to moving objects.
Poecilanthrax lucifer
Poecilanthrax lucifer is a species of bee fly (family Bombyliidae) in the genus Poecilanthrax, a strictly North American group. Adults are distinguished by conspicuous black and yellow tomentose crossbands on the abdomen and yellow or tan bases on the larger wing veins that contrast with the remainder of the wing pattern. The species has a notably wide distribution, occurring in the West Indies, southern Gulf States, Central America, and northward into Arkansas and southern Illinois. Larvae develop as parasites inside caterpillars of cutworms and armyworms (family Noctuidae), with documented hosts including fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda). Uniquely among its genus, P. lucifer has also been reported as a hyperparasite of Myzine haemorrhoidalis (family Tiphiidae), a primary parasite of white grubs (genus Phyllophaga) in Puerto Rico.