Torymidae is a family of wasps that consists of attractive metallic species with enlarged hind legs, and generally with a long ovipositor. Many are 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 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, and some are phytophagous (plant-eating) species, sometimes usurping the galls formed by other insects. There are over 960 species in ca. 70 genera worldwide. They are best recognized in that they are one of the few groups of Chalcidoidea in which the cerci

Cercus

Cerci are paired appendages on the rear-most segments of many arthropods, including insects and arachnids but not crustaceans. Cerci often serve as sensory organs, but they may also be used as weapons or copulation aids, or they may simply be vestigial structures.Typical cerci may appear to be...

 are visible.

External links

• Universal Chalcidoidea Database
• Image gallery from Bug Guide
• Torymidae at Waspweb
• Family description and images
• OzAnimals - Mantis Parasitic Wasp
• Megastigmus transvaalensis, Brazilian peppertree seed chalcid on the UF
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  Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
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