Ormyridae
Encyclopedia
Ormyridae is a small family of parasitic wasp
s in the superfamily Chalcidoidea. They are either parasitoid
s or hyperparasitoids
on gall
-forming insects, primarily cynipid wasps and tephritid flies
. There are some 120 species in 3 genera (mostly in the genus Ormyrus), and they are almost entirely absent from South America
.
They are best recognized by distinctive scalloped sculpturing of the metasoma
l tergites.
Parasitic wasp
The term parasitoid wasp refers to a large evolutionary grade of hymenopteran superfamilies, mainly in the Apocrita. They are primarily parasitoids of other animals, mostly other arthropods...
s in the superfamily Chalcidoidea. They are either parasitoid
Parasitoid
A parasitoid is an organism that spends a significant portion of its life history attached to or within a single host organism in a relationship that is in essence parasitic; unlike a true parasite, however, it ultimately sterilises or kills, and sometimes consumes, the host...
s or hyperparasitoids
Hyperparasite
A hyperparasite is a parasite whose host is a parasite. This form of parasitism is especially common among entomophagous parasites....
on gall
Gall
Galls or cecidia are outgrowths on the surface of lifeforms caused by invasion by other lifeforms, such as parasites or bacterial infection. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues and can be caused by various parasites, from fungi and bacteria, to insects and mites...
-forming insects, primarily cynipid wasps and tephritid flies
Tephritidae
Tephritidae is one of two fly families referred to as "fruit flies", the other family being Drosophilidae. Tephritidae does not include the biological model organisms of the genus Drosophila , which is often called the "common fruit fly". There are nearly 5,000 described species of tephritid...
. There are some 120 species in 3 genera (mostly in the genus Ormyrus), and they are almost entirely absent from South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
.
They are best recognized by distinctive scalloped sculpturing of the metasoma
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 circulatory system, and the apical segments are typically...
l tergites.