Cuckoo wasp

Cuckoo Wasps
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Suborder:	Apocrita
Superfamily:	Chrysidoidea
Family:	Chrysididae
Subfamilies
Amiseginae Chrysidinae Cleptinae Loboscelidiinae

Chrysura refulgens

Commonly known as cuckoo wasps, the Hymenopteran family Chrysididae is a very large cosmopolitan group (over 3000 described species) of parasitoid or cleptoparasitic wasps, often highly sculptured, with brilliantly colored metallic-like bodies (thus the common names jewel wasp, gold wasp, or emerald wasp are sometimes used). They are most diverse in desert regions of the world, as they are typically associated with solitary bee and wasp species, which are also most diverse in such areas.

Members of the largest subfamily, Chrysidinae, are the most familiar; they are generally cleptoparasites, laying their eggs in host nests, where their larvae consume the host egg or larva while it is still young, then consuming the provisions. Chrysidines are distinguished from the members of other subfamilies in that most can curl into a defensive ball, in a process known as conglobation. This ability is shared with pill bugs, pill millipedes (which are often mistaken for pill bugs), and armadilloes. Members of the other subfamilies are parasitoids, of either sawflies or walking sticks, and cannot fold up into a ball.

External links

• Chrysis. net a picture rich and very informative site
• Family Chrysididae - Cuckoo Wasps at Bugguide, images and information.
• Chrysididae Identification Guide An online guide to the Chrysidids of Eastern North America
• Hymis de Images (=Bilder)

This wasp-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Wasp stubs Chrysidoidea Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную? George, Count Brasov Kalamazoo Central High School Look at other dictionaries: cuckoo wasp — any of several small, metallic green or blue wasps of the family Chrysididae that deposit their eggs in nests of other wasps. * * * ▪ insect also called  Ruby tailed Wasp,    any member of the insect family Chrysididae (Chrysalidae) of the order… …   Universalium cuckoo wasp — noun a ruby tail or other wasp which lays its eggs in the nest of a bee or other wasp …   English new terms dictionary cuckoo wasp — noun : any of certain usually brilliantly metallic green or metallic blue wasps that constitute the family Chrysididae or the superfamily Chrysidoidea and lay their eggs in the provisioned larval cells of other hymenopterous insects …   Useful english dictionary WASP — /wosp/, Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive. n. 1. a white Anglo Saxon Protestant. 2. a member of the privileged, established white upper middle class in the U.S. adj. 3. Waspy. Also, Wasp. [1955 60] /wosp/, n. a member of the Women s Air Force… …   Universalium wasp — wasplike, adj. /wosp/, n. 1. any of numerous social or solitary hymenopterous insects of the Vespidae, Sphecidae, and allied families, generally having a long, slender body and narrow waist and, in the female, a stinger. 2. a person who is… …   Universalium Wasp — Taxobox name = Wasp image width = 180px image caption = Aleiodes indiscretus parasitizing a gypsy moth caterpillar regnum = Animalia phylum = Arthropoda classis = Insecta ordo = Hymenoptera subdivision ranks = Suborder subdivision = Apocrita See… …   Wikipedia cuckoo fly — noun A gold wasp, so named from laying its eggs in the nests or larvae of other insects • • • Main Entry: ↑cuckoo …   Useful english dictionary wasp — (Roget s IV) n. Types of wasps include: common, fossorial, digging, digger, social, solitary, hunting, potter, paper, sand, wood, spider, mud, fig, gall, cuckoo, thread waisted; (mud) dauber, yellow jacket, hornet; see also bee 1 …   English dictionary for students wasp bee — noun : cuckoo bee …   Useful english dictionary ruby wasp — noun or ruby tail wasp or ruby fly : cuckoo wasp …   Useful english dictionary 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”