| Cedar wood wasp | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Suborder: | Symphyta |
| Superfamily: | Siricoidea |
| Family: | Anaxyelidae |
| Genus: | Syntexis |
| Species: | S. libocedrii |
| Binomial name | |
| Syntexis libocedrii Rohwer, 1915 |
|
The Anaxyelidae is a wood wasp family within the Symphyta, containing only a single living species, Syntexis libocedrii, (also called the cedar wood wasp or incense-cedar wood wasp), though the family has an extensive Mesozoic fossil record; this species is thus a "living fossil". It has the remarkable behavior of ovipositing only in recently burnt incense-cedar (Calocedrus), redcedar (Thuja) or juniper (Juniperus); the wood is often still smoldering when the wasp is laying its eggs, and the larvae develop in the wood.[1] It occurs from the mountains of central California to southern British Columbia, but is very rarely seen, except by firefighters.