Hyperparasitoid
Guides
Ormyridae
Ormyridae is a small family of parasitic wasps in the superfamily Chalcidoidea. Members are parasitoids or hyperparasitoids of gall-forming insects, primarily cynipid wasps and tephritid flies. The family comprises approximately 153 species across three subfamilies (Asparagobiinae, Hemadinae, Ormyrinae) and several genera, with the majority in the genus Ormyrus. Ormyridae has a cosmopolitan distribution but is almost entirely absent from South America. Adults of many species exhibit iridescent coloration and distinctive metasomal sculpturing.
Orthogonalys
Orthogonalys is a genus of trigonalid wasps comprising hyperparasitoid species. At least one species, Orthogonalys pulchella, employs a distinctive 'scattershot' approach to host location, a notable behavioral adaptation among parasitoid wasps. The genus belongs to the family Trigonalidae, a group known for complex life histories involving secondary parasitism.
Orthogonalys pulchella
Orthogonalys pulchella is a species of hyperparasitoid wasp in the family Trigonalidae. This species is part of a unique guild of parasitoids that target the larvae of other parasitoid wasps rather than primary hosts. The species was described by Cresson and has been documented in parts of North America.
Pachyneuron
Pachyneuron is a cosmopolitan genus of parasitoid wasps in the family Pteromalidae, comprising approximately 60 valid species. Species are primarily hyperparasitoids of Sternorrhyncha (aphids, coccids, and psyllids), attacking the primary parasitoids of these herbivores. Some species also hyperparasitize predatory insects such as ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae) and lacewings (Chrysopidae) via their parasitoids. Certain species, including P. aphidis and P. albutius, have been documented as direct parasitoids of dipteran larvae or pupae. The genus has been studied in the context of biological control, where hyperparasitism may interfere with pest management programs.
Perilampidae
perilampid wasps
Perilampidae is a family of small chalcidoid wasps comprising approximately 270 described species across 15 genera. Most species are hyperparasitoids, parasitizing other parasitoid larvae within host insects, though some function as primary parasitoids. The family is characterized by brilliant metallic coloration, robust body form, and a unique life history involving mobile first-instar larvae called planidia. Perilampidae is closely related to Eucharitidae, with which it shares the planidial larval stage and multidigitate labrum.
Perilampus
Perilampus is a genus of minute parasitic wasps in the family Perilampidae, ranging from 1.3–5.5 mm in length. Many species exhibit brilliant metallic green or blue coloration, though some are entirely black. The genus is notable for its complex hyperparasitic life cycle, involving a mobile planidium larva that actively seeks hosts. Approximately 260–277 species are recognized worldwide, with 36 species recorded from North America north of Mexico.
Perilampus canadensis
Perilampus canadensis is a small parasitic wasp in the family Perilampidae, first described by Crawford in 1914. Like other perilampids, it is likely a hyperparasitoid, with larvae that develop as parasites of other parasitic insects. The species has been recorded from Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, and Ontario, suggesting a broad distribution across eastern and central North America. Members of this genus are typically metallic green or blue in color and range from 1.3 to 5.5 millimeters in length.
Perilampus chrysopae
Perilampus chrysopae is a species of hyperparasitic wasp in the family Perilampidae, described by Crawford in 1914. The species name 'chrysopae' indicates an association with lacewings (Chrysopidae), which serve as hosts. Like other perilampids, it exhibits a complex life cycle involving broadcast egg-laying and mobile planidium larvae that actively seek hosts. The species is documented from multiple provinces across Canada.
Perilampus hyalinus
A Nearctic parasitoid wasp in the family Perilampidae, part of a species complex historically confused under this name for over 100 years. Recent integrative taxonomic revision (2024) clarified its status through neotype designation with COI sequence, establishing it as either a hyperparasitoid of dipteran parasitoids of Orthoptera or a parasitoid of dipteran kleptoparasites of Crabronidae and Sphecidae that provision nests with Orthoptera. Distinguished from eight newly described congeneric species through morphology, COI, ITS2, and host data.
Perilampus platigaster
A minute parasitic wasp in the family Perilampidae, measuring 1.3–5.5 mm in length. Many individuals display brilliant metallic green or blue coloration, though some are entirely black. The species is a hyperparasitoid, with larvae that parasitize other parasitic insects, typically tachinid flies, ichneumon wasps, or braconid wasps living inside caterpillars or other insect larvae. Females broadcast eggs on vegetation and bark; hatched planidium larvae actively seek hosts by attaching to moving objects.
Perilampus stygicus
Perilampus stygicus is a small parasitic wasp in the family Perilampidae, measuring 1.3–5.5 mm in length. It is a hyperparasitoid, with larvae that parasitize other parasitic insects such as tachinid flies, ichneumon wasps, or braconid wasps living inside caterpillars or other insect larvae. The species exhibits a distinctive triangular or inverted pyramid-shaped abdomen and short, strongly elbowed antennae that help distinguish it from similar-looking cuckoo wasps (Chrysididae).
Prochiloneurus
Prochiloneurus is a genus of minute parasitoid wasps in the family Encyrtidae, established by Silvestri in 1915. Species in this genus are primarily known as hyperparasitoids, attacking other parasitoids that develop within mealybugs (Pseudococcidae). The genus has been documented from multiple continents including Africa, Asia, and the Americas, with recent new country records from China. Some species have been studied for their role in biological control systems, particularly in cassava mealybug management where they act as secondary parasitoids of primary parasitoids like Anagyrus lopezi.
Pteromalidae
Pteromalidae is a large family of chalcidoid wasps containing approximately 3,450 described species in about 640 genera. The family underwent major taxonomic revision in 2022, when it was split into 24 families due to recognition of its polyphyletic nature; the remaining Pteromalidae now comprises 8 subfamilies. Members are predominantly parasitoids of other insects, with life history strategies spanning solitary to gregarious, ectoparasitoid to endoparasitoid, and primary parasitoid to hyperparasitoid. Several species are important biological control agents of agricultural and nuisance pests.
Signiphoridae
Signiphoridae is a small family of parasitoid wasps in the superfamily Chalcidoidea, containing approximately 80-88 extant species distributed across four genera: Chartocerus, Signiphora, Thysanus, and Clytina. These minute wasps function as both primary parasitoids and hyperparasitoids, primarily associated with scale insects (Diaspididae), mealybugs (Pseudococcidae), and predatory insects that feed on these hemipteran pests. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution with species recorded across multiple continents including Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Recent taxonomic work has described new species from rainforest canopy habitats and documented new distributional records for previously known species.
Syrphophagus
Syrphophagus is a cosmopolitan genus of chalcid wasps in the family Encyrtidae. Species within this genus are hyperparasitoids that attack primary parasitoids developing within aphids. At least one species, S. aphidivorus, exhibits atypical dual oviposition behavior, attacking both parasitoid larvae in live aphids and parasitoid pupae in aphid mummies. The genus contains numerous described species distributed across multiple continents.
Taeniogonalos gundlachii
Taeniogonalos gundlachii is a species of hyperparasitoid wasp in the family Trigonalidae. It has been documented as a hyperparasitoid of the giant silkmoth Hyalophora cecropia. The species is recorded from eastern Canada, with observations in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec. As a member of Trigonalidae, it likely exhibits the family's characteristic biology of hyperparasitism, though direct observations of its complete life history remain limited.
Theronia
Theronia is a genus of ichneumon wasps in the family Ichneumonidae, established by Holmgren in 1859. The genus comprises at least 30 described species with a worldwide distribution. Species in this genus are parasitoids, specifically endoparasitoids or hyperparasitoids, of Lepidoptera larvae.
Trigonalidae
Trigonalidae is a family of parasitic wasps constituting the sole living members of the superfamily Trigonaloidea. With over 90 described species in 16 genera, these wasps exhibit a remarkably complex life history involving hyperparasitism. Females deposit thousands of minute eggs on or within leaves, which must be consumed by a caterpillar to initiate development. The family is divided into two subfamilies: Orthogonalinae (containing only Orthogonalys) and Trigonalinae. Trigonalidae has been proposed as the sister group to all Aculeata.
Trigonaloidea
Trigonaloidea is a monotypic superfamily of Hymenoptera containing the single family Trigonalidae, comprising approximately 90-110 cosmopolitan species. The superfamily is of uncertain phylogenetic placement within Apocrita, sometimes associated with Evanioidea but currently treated as distinct. Trigonalids exhibit highly unusual biology: eggs are laid on foliage and hatch only upon ingestion by sawfly or lepidopteran larvae, subsequently developing as hyperparasitoids of primary parasitoids within those hosts. The sole European species, Pseudogonalos hahnii, is the only representative recorded from Britain and Ireland, where it is rarely encountered and possibly declining.