ichneumonoidea

The name is derived from Latin 'ichneumon', from Ancient Greek ἰχνεύμων (ikhneúmōn, "tracker"), from ἴχνος (íkhnos, "track, footstep").{{cite web |title=Strong's Greek: 2487. ἴχνος (ichnos) -- a track |url=https://biblehub.com/greek/2487.htm |website=biblehub.com}} The name is shared with the Egyptian mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon.

The superfamily is defined by fusion of the costal and radial veins of the fore wing, and almost all species have more than 11 antennal segments.{{Cite book|last1=H.|first1=Goulet|last2=J.T.|first2=Huber|date=1993|title=Hymenoptera of the world: An identification guide to families.|chapter-url=https://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications?id=35617|chapter=10: Superfamily Ichneumonoidea|language=en}} Both included families have a cosmopolitan distribution. Ichneumonoids have morphological similarities with relatives within the order Hymenoptera, including ants and bees. Ichneumonoidea contains a great deal of morphological diversity, with species ranging in size from {{convert|1|to|130|mm|abbr=on}} long. Most are slender, and the females of many species (particularly in the genus Megarhyssa) have extremely long ovipositors for laying eggs.

The ichneumonid wasps may be more familiar to non-entomologists than braconids, as they are generally larger. The two families are distinguished from each other primarily by details of wing venation.

Most are brownish or black, not brightly colored.Borror and White Forewings lack vein 2m-cu.

Ichneumonids vary greatly in size and their color varies from brightly colored to uniform black. Forewings with vein 2m-cu present and tubular.

Parasitoidism evolved only once in the Hymenoptera during the Permian, leading to a single clade which contains the Apocrita and the Orussoidea, but has been secondarily lost multiple times. The Apocrita emerged from that clade during the Jurassic.{{cite journal |last1=Branstetter |first1=Michael G. |last2=Danforth |first2=Bryan N. |last3=Pitts |first3=James P. |last4=Faircloth |first4=Brant C. |last5=Ward |first5=Philip S. |last6=Buffington |first6=Matthew L. |last7=Gates |first7=Michael W. |last8=Kula |first8=Robert R. |last9=Brady |first9=Seán G. |year=2017|title=Phylogenomic Insights into the Evolution of Stinging Wasps and the Origins of Ants and Bees |journal=Current Biology |volume=27 |issue=7 |pages=1019–1025 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2017.03.027 |pmid=28376325|doi-access=free |bibcode=2017CBio...27.1019B }}{{oa}}{{cite journal |author=Schulmeister, S. |date=2003 |title=Simultaneous analysis of basal Hymenoptera (Insecta), introducing robust-choice sensitivity analysis |journal=Biological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=79 |issue=2 |pages=245–275 |doi=10.1046/j.1095-8312.2003.00233.x|doi-access=free }}{{oa}}{{cite web |url=http://susanne.schulmeister.com/Symphyta.html |title=Symphyta |last1=Schulmeister |first1=S. |access-date=28 November 2016 |archive-date=21 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100621021510/http://susanne.schulmeister.com/Symphyta.html |url-status=dead }}{{Cite journal |last1=Peters |first1=Ralph S. |last2=Krogmann |first2=Lars |last3=Mayer |first3=Christoph |last4=Donath |first4=Alexander |last5=Gunkel |first5=Simon |last6=Meusemann |first6=Karen |last7=Kozlov |first7=Alexey |last8=Podsiadlowski |first8=Lars |last9=Petersen |first9=Malte |title=Evolutionary History of the Hymenoptera |journal=Current Biology |volume=27 |issue=7 |pages=1013–1018 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2017.01.027 |pmid=28343967 |year=2017 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2017CBio...27.1013P |hdl=2434/801122 |hdl-access=free }}

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Ichneumonoids are solitary insects, and the vast majority are parasitoids; the larvae feed on or in another insect until it finally dies. Most hosts are holometabolous insect larvae, but there are many exceptions. In general, ichneumonoids are host specific, and only attack one or a few closely related host species. Many species use polydnaviruses to suppress the immune systems of their host insects. Due to the wide variety in hosts and lifestyles, see subfamily pages for more detail.

The female ichneumonoid finds a host and lays an egg on, near, or inside the host's body.{{cite web|last=Sezen|first=Uzay|title=Two ichneumon wasps competing to oviposit|url=http://www.vimeo.com/28911034|access-date=12 September 2011}} The ovipositor of ichneumonoids generally cannot deliver a sting as many wasps or bees do. It can be used to bore wood and lay eggs on hosts deep inside, or reach hosts hidden inside leaf shelters. Upon hatching, the larva feeds either externally or internally, killing the host when it is ready to pupate.

Various ichneumonoids are used as biological control agents in controlling horticultural or forest pests. An example is the relationship between the species Ichneumon eumerus and its host butterfly Phengaris rebeli.{{cite journal|last=Hochberg|first=M|author2=Elmes, G. W. |author3=Thomas, J. A. |author4=Clarke, R. T |title=Mechanisms of local persistence in coupled host-parasitoid associations: the case model of Maculinea rebeli and Ichneumon eumerus|journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences|year=1996|volume=351|issue=1348|pages=1713–1724|doi=10.1098/rstb.1996.0153|bibcode=1996RSPTB.351.1713H}} The butterfly larva is a parasite within Myrmica ant nests. The adult I. eumerus searches for ant nests and only enters when they contain P. rebeli caterpillars. Once inside, they oviposit within the caterpillars and escape the nest by releasing a chemical which causes the worker ants to fight each other rather than the intruding wasp. The wasp eggs then hatch inside the caterpillar and eventually consume and kill the host.

;Life cycle of Hercus fontinalis

File:Hercus fontinalis early instar larvae.jpg|Early instar larvae on caterpillar

File:Hercus fontinalis later instar larvae.jpg|Later instar larvae

File:Hercus_fontinalis_final_instar_larva.jpg|Final instar larvae building cocoon

File:Hercus fontinalis pupa.jpg|Pupa inside cocoon

File:Hercus fontinalis eclosion.jpg|Adults emerging from cocoons

File:Hercus fontinalis female.jpg|Adult female

{{Reflist}}

• {{Wikispecies-inline}}
• {{commonscat-inline|Ichneumonoidea}}
• [http://cirrusimage.com/hymenoptera_ichneumonidae.htm Reference large-format photos of 15 different species of Ichneumonidae]
• An [http://mdc.mo.gov/conmag/2002/05/amazing-ichneumon interesting account] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411175339/http://mdc.mo.gov/conmag/2002/05/amazing-ichneumon |date=2021-04-11 }} of an observer's encounter with Ichneumons.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20040204084549/http://eny3005.ifas.ufl.edu/lab1/Hymenoptera/Ichneumonid.htm University of Florida Department of Entomology & Nematology page about ichneumons]
• [http://bugguide.net/node/view/14971 Bugguide.net. Superfamily Ichneumonoidea - Braconids and Ichneumons]

{{Hymenoptera|2}}

{{Insects in culture}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q957016}}

Category:Apocrita superfamilies

Category:Biological pest control wasps

Category:Insects in culture

de:Schlupfwespen