Social-insect-parasitism
Guides
Hybrizontinae
The subfamily Hybrizontinae comprises ant parasitoid wasps within Ichneumonidae, representing the third most diverse group of ant parasitoids after Eucharitidae and Neoneurini. All members are specialized parasitoids of ant societies. The subfamily exhibits two distinct host-searching strategies: an active strategy where females hover over ant trails to attack larvae carried by workers, and an ambush strategy where females hang from vegetation along trails to oviposit undetected.
parasitoidsantsichneumonidaehost-searching-behaviorovipositionant-parasitoidsJapanEuropeLasiusMyrmicaambush-strategyhovering-strategysocial-insect-parasitismspecialized-morphologyreduced-mouthpartsintraspecific-competitiondiurnal-activitysubgenus-specific-host-rangeevolutionary-arms-racenarrow-search-area-trade-offundetected-ovipositionvegetation-hanging-behaviorhind-leg-grippingant-trail-associationlarval-transport-exploitationdefensive-ant-responsesmandible-threatscapture-riskflight-limitationsgrass-perchinghead-down-postureworker-ant-interactionhost-parasitoid-coevolutionant-society-specializationthird-most-diverse-ant-parasitoid-groupPaxylommatinae-(former-name)Braconidae-(formerly-considered-part-of)separate-family-(formerly-considered)Phyllobaenus obscurus
checkered beetle
Phyllobaenus obscurus is a checkered beetle (family Cleridae) notable as the first documented case of a beetle acting as a parasitoid of ants. Larvae develop inside intact cocoons of two species in the Ectatomma ruidum species complex, feeding on ant prepupae or pupae and eventually killing the host. This parasitoid lifestyle represents a significant departure from typical clerid ecology, which centers on predation of wood-boring beetles. The species has been documented in Pacific coastal plains of Oaxaca, Mexico, where prevalence of parasitism is extremely low (<0.6% of available cocoons).