Wood-wasps

Guides

• Xiphydriidae

  wood wasps, swordtail sawflies

  Xiphydriidae is a family of approximately 150 species of wood wasps distributed worldwide across North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and other regions. Adults are distinguished by their globose (dome-shaped) heads borne on long, slender necks, with body lengths ranging from 6–21 mm. Larvae are wood borers in dead or dying trees and branches, where they feed on symbiotic fungi rather than wood directly. The family has a fossil record extending to the mid-Cretaceous, with the oldest known fossils from this period.

  wood-waspssymphytaxiphydrioideaforest-insectswood-borersfungal-symbiosisparasitoid-hostscretaeous-fossilsglobal-distributiondead-wood-ecology