Thynnidae
Guides
Macrosiagon octomaculata
Macrosiagon octomaculata is a ripiphorid beetle species known to be a parasitoid of wasps and bees. The species exhibits a complex life cycle involving triungulinid larvae that use phoretic transport on host insects to reach their ultimate hosts. First accurately recorded from southern Brazil, specifically Santa Catarina Island, where it was found associated with the eriocaulaceous plant Paepalanthus polyanthus in restinga habitat. The species represents one of the few documented cases of Ripiphoridae utilizing an Eriocaulaceae species for reproductive biology.
Pterombrus
Pterombrus is a genus of small, slender wasps in the family Thynnidae (formerly placed in Tiphiidae). The genus contains at least one described species, Pterombrus rufiventris, which is a rare parasitoid of tiger beetle larvae. These wasps are poorly known and seldom photographed, with most biological knowledge derived from a single detailed study of the western subspecies P. rufiventris hyalinatus. Adults are active during summer months and are associated with grassland habitats where their hosts occur.
Pterombrus rufiventris
Pterombrus rufiventris is a parasitoid wasp in the family Thynnidae, native to North America. The species is notable for its specialized life history as a parasite of tiger beetle (Cicindela) larvae. It is considered rare but has been documented across a wide geographic range from southern California to Texas and eastward to Georgia and Virginia. The species exhibits sexual dimorphism typical of thynnid wasps, with wingless females and winged males. Two subspecies are recognized: the nominate form in the eastern range and P. r. hyalinatus in the western portion of its distribution.