HEMI Aphididae Aphidius attacking pea aphid

The Aphidiinae are a subfamily of tiny

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 that use aphids as their hosts. Several species have been used in biological control programs of various aphids.

Biology and distribution

Aphidiines are koinobiont endoparasitoids of adult and immature aphids. While the larva of the 2–3 mm long '' Praon'' leaves the hollowed shell of the aphid from below to pupate in a

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

-like cocoon, most other Aphidiinae pupate inside the dead aphid and break out afterwards. These wasps are found worldwide, but are primarily found in the northern hemisphere. Several species have been introduced to countries outside of their natural range, both accidentally and purposefully for biocontrol.

Systematics

Although they have often been treated as a separate family, the Aphidiidae, the Aphidiinae are a lineage within the Braconidae. It is not yet clear to which braconid subfamilies they are most closely related. The Aphidiinae are subdivided into several tribes, the Ephedrini, Praini, Trioxini, Aclitini, and Aphidiini, with the latter subdivided into three subtribes. Most species reside in the Aphidiini. The Praini's loss of internal pupation is likely to be secondary. There are ~400 spp. in ~50 genera worldwide.

Genera

Ephedrini * '' Ephedrus'' * '' Toxares'' Praini * '' Praon'' * '' Dyscritulus'' * '' Harkeria'' * '' Areopraon'' Trioxini * '' Trioxys'' * '' Binodoxys'' * '' Monoctonus'' * '' Monoctonia'' * '' Lipolexis'' * '' Parabioxys'' * '' Bioxys'' AclitiniŽikić, et al. 2012 * '' Aclitus'' Aphidiini * '' Aphidius'' * '' Diaeretiella'' * '' Diaeretus'' * '' Diaeretellus'' * '' Lysaphidus'' * '' Lysiphlebia'' * '' Paralipsis'' * ''

Pauesia ''Pauesia'' is a genus of parasitoid wasps in the subfamily Aphidiinae. The species in the genus use the conifer aphids (genus ''Cinara'') as their host. '' Pauesia anatolica'' is a parasitoid of the cedar aphid '' Cinara cedri,'' and '' Pauesia ...

'' * '' Protaphidius'' * '' Pseudopauesia'' * '' Adialytus'' * ''

Lysiphlebus ''Lysiphlebus'' is a genus of wasps belonging to the family Braconidae. The genus has almost cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of the wor ...

'' * '' Xenostigmus''

Footnotes

References

* (1997): A Molecular Phylogeny of the Aphidiinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' 7(3): 281-293
Abstract
* (2005): Molecular phylogeny of the Aphidiinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) based on DNA sequences of 16S rRNA, 18S rDNA and ATPase 6 genes. ''Eur. J. Entomol.'' 102: 133-138
PDF
* (2012): Aphidiinae (Braconidae: Hymenoptera) of Serbia and Montenegro – tritrophic interactions. ''Acta Entomologica Serbica'' 17(1/2): 83-105

External links

* BugGuide.net
Information and Pictures of Aphidiinae
* Cedar Creek

on the UF /

IFAS IFAS may refer: * Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences * Integrated Fixed-Film Activated Sludge, a sewage treatment process * International French adjectival system In rock climbing, mountaineering, and other climbing disciplines, clim ...

Featured Creatures Web site {{Taxonbar, from=Q1953246 Braconidae Hymenoptera subfamilies