| Scelionidae | |
|---|---|
| Telenomus sp. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Suborder: | Apocrita |
| Superfamily: | Platygastroidea |
| Family: | Scelionidae |
| Subfamilies | |
|
Scelioninae |
|
The Hymenopteran family Scelionidae is a very large cosmopolitan group (over 3000 described species in some 160 genera) of exclusively parasitoid wasps, mostly small (0.5-10 mm), often black, often highly sculptured, with (typically) elbowed antennae that have an 9- or 10-segmented flagellum. Nowadays it is considered to be a subfamily of Platygastridae.
They are generally idiobionts, attacking the eggs of many different types of insects or spiders, and many are important in biological control. Several genera are wingless, and a few attack aquatic insect eggs underwater.