''Hybrizon'' is the
genus
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 nom ...
in the
subfamily Hybrizontinae of
ichneumonid 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 subfamily was previously called Paxylommatinae, and has in the past been considered part
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 ...
, or a separate family altogether.
Description and distribution
''Hybrizon'' lacks the 2m-cu crossvein present in most other ichneumonids. It is a small and slender wasp with short palpi and fused 2nd and 3rd
metasoma
The metasoma is the posterior part of the body, or tagma, of arthropods whose body is composed of three parts, the other two being the prosoma and the mesosoma. In insects, it contains most of the digestive tract, respiratory system, and circul ...
l segments.
This genus has a
holarctic
The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical reg ...
distribution.
Biology
''Hybrizon'' is unusual in that it is an endoparasitoid of
ant
Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...
s. Female wasps
oviposit
The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typical ...
into larval ants while they are being transported outside of the nest by worker ants. Oviposition is carried out very quickly, in less than one second.
Immature ''Hybrizon'' pupate within the ant nest without spinning a cocoon.
References
External links
Photos on BugGuideDNA barcodes at BOLD systems
{{Taxonbar, from=Q14534662
Ichneumonidae
Apocrita subfamilies
Monotypic animal subfamilies