''Sirex'' is a

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 ...

wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. ...

s in the family Siricidae, the horntails or wood wasps. They inject eggs with fungal

endosymbiont An ''endosymbiont'' or ''endobiont'' is any organism that lives within the body or cells of another organism most often, though not always, in a mutualistic relationship. (The term endosymbiosis is from the Greek: ἔνδον ''endon'' "within ...

s into wood. The fungus is contained in a

mycangium The term mycangium (pl., mycangia) is used in biology for special structures on the body of an animal that are adapted for the transport of symbiotic fungi (usually in spore form). This is seen in many xylophagous insects (e.g. horntails and bark b ...

which nourishes it with secretions, and in turn it digests wood for the wasp larva. The genus includes economically important pests; ''S. noctilio'', known simply as the 'Sirex woodwasp' is an invasive species, having spread widely across the world from its original range.Sirex Woodwasp – ''Sirex noctilio''.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 2011.Hurley, B. P., et al. (2007)
A comparison of control results for the alien invasive woodwasp, ''Sirex noctilio'', in the southern hemisphere.
''Agricultural and Forest Entomology'' 9(3), 159–71.

Species

* ''

Sirex abietinus ''Sirex'' is a genus of wasps in the family Siricidae, the horntails or wood wasps. They inject eggs with fungal endosymbionts into wood. The fungus is contained in a mycangium which nourishes it with secretions, and in turn it digests wood for ...

'' Goulet, 2012 * ''

Sirex areolatus ''Sirex'' is a genus of wasps in the family Siricidae, the horntails or wood wasps. They inject eggs with fungal endosymbionts into wood. The fungus is contained in a mycangium which nourishes it with secretions, and in turn it digests wood for ...

'' (Cresson, 1868) * '' Sirex behrensii'' (Cresson, 1880) * '' Sirex californicus'' (Ashmead, 1904) * ''

Sirex carinthiacus ''Sirex'' is a genus of wasps in the family Siricidae, the horntails or wood wasps. They inject eggs with fungal endosymbionts into wood. The fungus is contained in a mycangium which nourishes it with secretions, and in turn it digests wood for ...

'' Konow, 1892 * '' Sirex cyaneus'' Fabricius, 1781 * ''

Sirex ermak ''Sirex'' is a genus of wasps in the family Siricidae, the horntails or wood wasps. They inject eggs with fungal endosymbionts into wood. The fungus is contained in a mycangium which nourishes it with secretions, and in turn it digests wood fo ...

'' (Semenov, 1921) * ''

Sirex hispaniola ''Sirex'' is a genus of wasps in the family Siricidae, the horntails or wood wasps. They inject eggs with fungal endosymbionts into wood. The fungus is contained in a mycangium which nourishes it with secretions, and in turn it digests wood for ...

'' Goulet, 2012 * ''

Sirex juvencus ''Sirex juvencus'' is a species of horntail found in Europe, Siberia, Sakhalin Island, Japan, the Philippines, Algeria and several other countries. Its common name is steely-blue wood wasp because of its color. Description Male adults are abo ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) * ''

Sirex longicauda ''Sirex'' is a genus of wasps in the family Siricidae, the horntails or wood wasps. They inject eggs with fungal endosymbionts into wood. The fungus is contained in a mycangium which nourishes it with secretions, and in turn it digests wood for ...

'' Middlekauff, 1948 * '' Sirex mexicanus'' Smith, 2012 * ''

Sirex mongolorum ''Sirex'' is a genus of wasps in the family Siricidae, the horntails or wood wasps. They inject eggs with fungal endosymbionts into wood. The fungus is contained in a mycangium which nourishes it with secretions, and in turn it digests wood for ...

'' (Semenov) * ''

Sirex nigricornis ''Sirex'' is a genus of wasps in the family Siricidae, the horntails or wood wasps. They inject eggs with fungal endosymbionts into wood. The fungus is contained in a mycangium which nourishes it with secretions, and in turn it digests wood for ...

'' Fabricius, 1781 * ''

Sirex nitidus ''Sirex'' is a genus of wasps in the family Siricidae, the horntails or wood wasps. They inject eggs with fungal endosymbionts into wood. The fungus is contained in a mycangium which nourishes it with secretions, and in turn it digests wood for ...

'' (Harris, 1841) * ''

Sirex nitobei ''Sirex'' is a genus of wasps in the family Siricidae, the horntails or wood wasps. They inject eggs with fungal endosymbionts into wood. The fungus is contained in a mycangium which nourishes it with secretions, and in turn it digests wood for ...

'' Matsumura * ''

Sirex noctilio The sirex woodwasp (''Sirex noctilio'') is a species of horntail, native to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa.New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Copyright © 2011. Sirex Woodwasp – ''Sirex noctilio''. http://www.dec.ny.g ...

'' Fabricius, 1793 * ''

Sirex obesus ''Sirex'' is a genus of wasps in the family Siricidae, the horntails or wood wasps. They inject eggs with fungal endosymbionts into wood. The fungus is contained in a mycangium which nourishes it with secretions, and in turn it digests wood fo ...

'' Bradley, 1913 * ''Sirex sinicus'' Maa * ''Sirex tianshanicus'' (Semenov) * ''Sirex torvus'' Harris, 1779 * ''Sirex varipes'' Walker, 1866 * ''Sirex vates'' Mocsáry * ''Sirex xerophilus'' Schiff, 2012

Species

References

Further reading