''Xanthopimpla punctata'', also known as the yellow ichneumon wasp, is a yellow-colored
Ichneumon wasp
The Ichneumonidae, also known as the ichneumon wasps, Darwin wasps, or ichneumonids, are a family of parasitoid wasps of the insect order Hymenoptera. They are one of the most diverse groups within the Hymenoptera with roughly 25,000 species cur ...
of subfamily
Pimplinae
Pimplinae are a worldwide subfamily of the parasitic wasp family Ichneumonidae.Gavin Broad (1966Identification key to the subfamilies of Ichneumonidae/ref>
Pimplinae are parasitoids of Endopterygota, often the pupae of Lepidoptera. Various spec ...
. Xanthopimpla spp. play a beneficial role in agriculture. They are important
parasitoids
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 parasi ...
of
lepidopterous
Lepidoptera ( ) is an order of insects that includes butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 families and 46 superfamilies, 10 percent of the total described specie ...
stem borers of cereals, sugar cane and other crops; they lay their eggs on moth caterpillars that damage crops.
References
Pimplinae
{{Ichneumonidae-stub