Scelionidae (parasitoids)
Author(s): Matthew J. Yoder et al.
Source: ZooKeys (2014) vol. 380 p. 59 Wikimedia Commons
Scelionidae (parasitoids)
This family of parasitoid wasps has a world-wide distribution and includes more than 150 genera (extant and fossil), which are often diverse. Most species are egg parasitoids of Lepidoptera, Hemiptera and Orthoptera. Several species are important natural enemies of insect pests like Trissolcus basalis, an egg parasitoid of Pentatomidae, or Telenomus busseolae, an egg parasitoid of Noctuidae.
Traditionally, the superfamily Platygastroidea included the families Platygastridae and Scelionidae. During a study on the phylogeny of this superfamily, Murphy et al. (2007) came to the conclusion that the Scelionidae belong to the Platygastridae. During a second phylogenetic analysis based on four molecular markers and 119 morphological characters, Chen et al. (2021) revised again the Platygastroidea, recognizing 8 separate families. These included the redefined families Platygastridae and Scelionidae.
The following genera are currently entered under this family:
