The genus ''Elasmus'' is the only member of the
hymenopteran subfamily Elasminae (formerly classified as a separate family, Elasmidae), and contains over 200 species worldwide. They are mostly
parasitoids or
hyperparasitoid
A hyperparasite, also known as a metaparasite, is a parasite whose host, often an insect, is also a parasite, often specifically a parasitoid. Hyperparasites are found mainly among the wasp-waisted Apocrita within the Hymenoptera, and in two ...
s of
lepidopteran larvae, though several species are parasitoids of ''
Polistes
Wasps of the cosmopolitan genus ''Polistes'' (the only genus in the tribe Polistini) are the most familiar of the polistine wasps, and are the most common type of paper wasp in North America. Walter Ebeling coined the vernacular name "umbrella ...
'' paper wasp larvae. Some authorities now place ''Elasmus'' in the subfamily
Eulophinae.
References
Eulophidae
Hymenoptera genera
{{Eulophidae-stub