Evaniidae
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| iEnsign Wasps | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
see text |
The ensign wasps (family Evaniidae) are a small cosmopolitan group of very distinctive appearance, with 20 extant genera containing some 450 known species. They have the metasoma attached very high above the hind coxae on the propodeum, and the metasoma itself is quite small, with a long one-segmented petiole, and compressed; the wasps move the abdomen up and down constantly, thus earning them their common name.
As far as is known, their larvae are predatory on the eggs of roaches; the female wasp lays an egg inside the ootheca (egg case) of the roach host, and the wasp larva hatches quickly and consumes the roach eggs. Technically, they are neither parasites nor parasitoids as in related wasp groups.
One species, Evania appendigaster, has essentially a worldwide distribution, having been introduced along with various roach species. While they do attack insects that are considered pests, they rarely attain population sizes sufficient to act as effective biocontrol agents.
[edit] Reference
Tree of Life Evaniidae
Catalogus Evaniidorum
 |
This insect-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
