Brachymeria

Brachymeria
Adult Brachymeria that has emerged from a pupa of Euploea core
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Hymenoptera
Family:
Chalcididae
Subfamily:
Chalcidinae
Genus:
Brachymeria

Westwood, 1829
Species:
over 300, see text

Brachymeria is a genus of parasitic wasps in the family Chalcididae. Over 300 species are known worldwide, all of them parasites of insect pupae.[1] Most species are black with limited yellow markings, and like most chalcidid wasps, they have enlarged hind femora. The female typically lays eggs inside the pupae of a lepidopteran using its ovipositor. Although mostly parasitic on Lepidoptera, a few are hyperparasites (parasites of parasitic Hymenoptera and Diptera), or attack other types of insect larvae (such as Polistes erythrocephalus).[2] The adult parasites emerge typically from the host pupa. Some species have been used in biological control.

References

  1. ^ Joseph, K.J.; Narendran, T.C.; Joy, P.J. (1973). Oriental Brachymeria: a monograph on the oriental species of Brachymeria (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae). Department of Zoology, University of Calicut.
  2. ^ Nelson, John M. (1971). "Nesting habits and nest symbionts of Polistes erythrocephalus Latreille (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in Costa Rica" (PDF). Rev. Biol. Trop. 18 (1–2): 89–98. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-22. Retrieved 2014-11-12.
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