Rhyssinae is a subfamily of parasitoid wasps in the family Ichneumonidae. It contains eight genera and 259 described species, but there are likely many undiscovered species.[1][2]

Rhyssinae
Temporal range: 47–0 Ma Eocene - Present
Rhyssella nitida
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Ichneumonidae
Subfamily: Rhyssinae
Morley, 1913
Rhyssella humida

All possess long ovipositors, which are used by females to bore into tree trunks to lay eggs on the larvae of horntails and wood-boring beetles.

Females in genus Megarhyssa show very long ovipositors, with M. atrata reaching 14 cm in length. [3]

Fossil record

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The oldest reliable discovery of the subfamily in fossil form was made in a German Messel pit (Eocene, about 47 Ma).[4]

Genera

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The following genera belong to the subfamily Rhyssinae:

Data sources: i = ITIS,[5] c = Catalogue of Life,[6] g = GBIF,[7] b = Bugguide.net[8]

References

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  1. ^ Kim, Ki-Beom; Kang, Gyu-Won; Lee, Jong-Wook (2018-03-01). "Taxonomic review of the subfamily Rhyssinae Morley (Hymenoptera:Ichneumonidae) with seven newly recorded species from South Korea". Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity. 11 (1): 123–131. doi:10.1016/j.japb.2017.11.005. ISSN 2287-884X.
  2. ^ Noort, Simon Van; Rousse, Pascal (2014-07-25). "A review of the Afrotropical Rhyssinae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) with the descriptions of five new species". European Journal of Taxonomy (91). doi:10.5852/ejt.2014.91. ISSN 2118-9773.
  3. ^ Le Lannic, Joseph; Nénon, J.-P. (1999-10-18). "Functional morphology of the ovipositor in Megarhyssa atrata (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) and its penetration into wood". Zoomorphology. 119 (2): 73–79. doi:10.1007/s004350050082. ISSN 0720-213X.
  4. ^ Seraina Klopfstein; Sonja Wedmann; Tamara Spasojevic (2018-06-06). "Seven remarkable new fossil species of parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) from the Eocene Messel Pit". PLOS ONE. 13 (6): e0197477. Bibcode:2018PLoSO..1397477S. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0197477. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 5991363. PMID 29874268.
  5. ^ "ITIS, Integrated Taxonomic Information System". Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  6. ^ "Catalogue of Life". Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  7. ^ "GBIF". Retrieved 2018-04-07.
  8. ^ "Rhyssinae Subfamily Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2018-04-07.

Further reading

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