Figitidae is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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. The full

diversity Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to: Business *Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce *Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers * ...

of this wasp family is not yet known, but about 1400 species have been described to over 130

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

. For example, the largest subfamily, Eucoilinae (previously considered as a separate family, the Eucoilidae), has over 1000 described species so far, but this is probably just a fraction of the total diversity. Figitid species occur throughout most of the world. Some Figitidae are ''

Drosophila ''Drosophila'' () is a genus of flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or (less frequently) pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species ...

'' parasitoids, such as the genera ''

Leptopilina ''Leptopilina'' is a genus of parasitoid wasp in the family Figitidae. The genus is best known for the three Drosophila parasitoids ''Leptopilina boulardi'', ''Leptopilina heterotoma'' and ''Leptopilina clavipes,'' used to study host-parasite im ...

'', ''Leptolamina'', and ''Ganaspis''.

Systematics

As of 2011, there are 12 subfamilies.Paretas-Martínez, J., et al. (2011)
Systematics of Australian Thrasorinae (Hymenoptera, Cynipoidea, Figitidae) with descriptions of Mikeiinae, new subfamily, two new genera, and three new species.
''ZooKeys'' 108 21-48. * Anacharitinae * Aspicerinae * Charipinae * Emargininae * Euceroptrinae * Eucoilinae * Figitinae * Mikeiinae * Parnipinae * Plectocynipinae * Pycnostigminae * Thrasorinae

References

External links

Figitidae.
British Insects: the Families of Hymenoptera.
BioLib: Figitidae taxa
Cynipoidea Apocrita families {{Wasp-stub