Ichneumonidae

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Ichneumonidae

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Suborder: Apocrita
Superfamily: Ichneumonoidea
Family: Ichneumonidae
Subfamilies

Lycorininae
Orthopelmatinae
Orthocentrinae
Tersilochinae
Microleptinae
Mesochorinae
Xoridinae
Acaenitinae
Ophioninae
Anomaloninae
Cremastinae
Porizontinae (= Campopleginae)
Diplazontinae
Metopiinae
Scolobatinae (= Ctenopelmatinae)
Tryphoninae
Banchinae
Ephialtinae (=Pimplinae)
Cryptinae (=Gelinae)
Ichneumoninae

Ichneumonidae is a family within the insect Order Hymenoptera. Insects in this family are commonly called ichneumon flies, ichneumon wasps, or simply ichneumons. Ichneumon wasps are important parasitoids of other insects. Common hosts are larvae and pupae of Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera. There are approximately 3,000 species in North America, and over 60,000 worldwide - more than any other Hymenoptera family. They differ from the wasps that sting (Aculeata: Vespoidea and Apoidea) in that the antennae have more segments; typically 16 or more, whereas the others have 13 or fewer. Female ichneumons frequently exhibit an ovipositor longer than their body. Ovipositors and stingers are homologous structures; some Ichneumons inject venom along with the egg, but they do not use the ovipositor as a stinger, per se, except in the subfamily Ophioninae. Stingers in aculeate Hymenoptera are used exclusively for defense; they cannot be used as egg-laying equipment. Males do not possess stingers/ovipositors in either lineage.

Some species of ichneumon wasps lay their eggs in the ground, but most inject them directly into a host's body, typically into a larva or pupa.

In some of the largest species, in the genera Megarhyssa and Rhyssa, both sexes will wander over the surface of logs, and tree trunks, tapping with their antennae. Each sex does so for a different reason; females are 'listening' for wood boring larvae of the horntail wasps (hymenopteran family Siricidae) upon which to lay eggs, males are listening for emerging females with which to mate. Upon sensing the vibrations emitted by such a wood-boring insect larva, the female wasp will drill her ovipositor into the substrate until it reaches the cavity wherein lies the larva. She then injects an egg through the hollow tube into the poor unfortunate's home. There the egg will hatch and the resulting larva will devour its host before emergence. How a female is able to drill with her ovipositor into solid wood is still somewhat of a mystery to science, though it has been found that there is metal (ionized manganese or zinc) in the extreme tip of some species' ovipositors.

Contents

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[edit] Oviposition

The process of oviposition on (Dolichomitus imperator)

1 Tapping with her antennae the wasp listens for the vibrations that indicate a host is present.
2 With the longer ovipositor, the Wasp drills a hole through the bark.
3 The Wasp inserts the ovipositor into the cavity which contains the host larva.
4 Making corrections.
5 Depositing her eggs.
6 Depositing her eggs.

[edit] Family Description

[edit] Classification and Systematics

[edit] Distribution

The distribution of Ichneumonidae is one of the most notable exceptions to the latitudinal gradient in species diversity because it shows greater speciation at high latitudes than at low latitudes (Sime & Brower, 1998). See latitudinal gradients in species diversity

[edit] Recommended Literature

World

  • Townes, H. 1969. Genera of Ichneumonidae, Part 1. Mem. Am. Entomol. Inst. 11.300 pp.
  • Townes, H. 1969. Genera of Ichneumonidae, Part 2. Mem. Am. Entomol. Inst. 12. 537pp.
  • Townes, H. 1969. Genera of Ichneumonidae, Part 3. Mem. Am. Entomol. Inst. 13. 307pp
  • Townes, H. 1971. Genera of Ichneumonidae, Part 4. Mem. Am. Entomol. Inst. 17. 372 pp.

Townes works which illustrate all genera introduce an unconventional Nomenclature ( Not following International Code of Zoological Nomenclature )

  • Fitton, M.G. and Gauld, I.D. 1976. The family-group names of the Ichneumonidae (excluding Ichneumoninae) (Hymenoptera). Systematic Entomology. 1:247-258. (93)
  • Fitton, M.G. & I.D. Gauld. 1978. Further notes on family-group names of Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera). Systematic Entomology 3: 245-247.
  • Gauld, I.D. 1976a. The classification of the Anomaloninae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History (Entomology) 33: 1-135.

Palaearctic

  • Aubert, J.F. 1969. Les Ichneumonides ouest-palearctiques et leurs hotes 1. Pimplinae, Xoridinae, Acaenitinae. Laboratoire d'Evolution des Etres Organises, Paris.
  • Aubert, J.F. 1978. Les Ichneumonides ouest-palearctiques et leurs hotes 2. Banchinae et Suppl. aux Pimplinae. Laboratoire d'Evolution des Etres Organises, Paris & EDIFAT-OPIDA, Echauffour.
  • Aubert, J.F. 2000. Les ichneumonides oeust-palearctiques et leurs hotes. 3. Scolobatinae (=Ctenopelmatinae) et suppl. aux volumes precedents, in English The West Palaearctic ichneumonids and their hosts. 3. Scolobatinae (=Ctenopelmatinae) and supplements to preceding volumes. Litterae Zoologicae 5: 1-310.

Auberts works give synonymic catalogues and indexed host data backed by his collection in Lausanne.

  • Oehlke J. 1966. Die westpaläarktische Arte der Tribus Poemeniini (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae).Beiträge zur Entomologie. 15 (1965), 881-892. Unconventinal Nomenclature. Not following I.C.Z.N.
  • Oehlke J. 1967. Westpaläarktische Ichneumonidae 1, Ephialtinae. Hymenopterorum Catalogus, (nova editio. s-Gravenhage). 2,1- 49. Unconventinal Nomenclature. Not following International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.
  • Perkins, J.F., 1959. Ichneumonidae, key to subfamilies and Ichneumoninae – 1. Handbk Ident. Br. Insects 7 (Part 2ai), 1–116.
  • Perkins, J.F., 1960 Hymenoptera: Ichneumonoidea: Ichneumonidae, subfamilies Ichneumoninae 2, Alomyinae, Agriotypinae and Lycorininae. Handbk Ident. Br. Insects 7 (Part 2aii), 1–96.
  • Townes, H.T., Momoi, SA and Townes, M. , 1965 Catalogue and Reclassification of Eastern Palearctic Ichneumonidae Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 5 661 pages.Bibliographic synonymic catalogue. Keys to subfamilies and genera. Host information.


[edit] Bibliography

Sime, K., & Brower, A. (1998) Explaining the latitudinal gradient anomaly in ichneumonid species richness: evidence from butterflies. Journal of Animal Ecology, 67, 387-399

[edit] Famous workers

Famous ichneumonologists include:

[edit] Gallery

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

in English.