''Aerophilus'' is a genus of

parasitoid wasp Parasitoid wasps are a large group of hymenopteran superfamilies, with all but the wood wasps (Orussoidea) being in the wasp-waisted Apocrita. As parasitoids, they lay their eggs on or in the bodies of other arthropods, sooner or later causin ...

s belonging to the family

Braconidae The Braconidae are a family of parasitoid wasps. After the closely related Ichneumonidae, braconids make up the second-largest family in the order Hymenoptera, with about 17,000 recognized species and many thousands more undescribed. One analysis ...

. As members of the subfamily Agathidinae, they are

koinobiont In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionary strategies within parasitis ...

endoparasitoids of

caterpillars Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Symph ...

. The host is attacked as an early

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...

, but not consumed and killed until the host is about to pupate. Nearly all species of ''Aerophilus'' have a narrow host range, attacking only one caterpillar species. However, the host range of the genus as a whole is quite broad, including many families of

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

.Sharkey MJ, Chapman EG. 2016. Revision of ''Aerophilus'' Szépligeti (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Agathidinae) from eastern North America, with a key to the Nearctic species. ''Contributions in Science'' 524: 51-110. Several species have been used in

biological control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also invo ...

programs, but with minimal success. ''Aerophilus'' has a world-wide distribution. Thirty-five species have been described from the United States and Canada.

References

Braconidae genera {{Ichneumonoidea-stub