Commonly known as cuckoo wasps or emerald wasps, the hymenopteran family Chrysididae is a very large cosmopolitan group (over 3000 described species) of parasitoid or kleptoparasitic wasps, often highly sculptured, with brilliant metallic colors created by

structural coloration Structural coloration in animals, and a few plants, is the production of colour by microscopically structured surfaces fine enough to interfere with visible light instead of pigments, although some structural coloration occurs in combination wi ...

. They are most diverse in desert regions of the world, as they are typically associated with solitary

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

and wasp species, which are also most diverse in such areas. Their brood parasitic lifestyle has led to the evolution of fascinating adaptations, including chemical mimicry of host odors by some species.

Nomenclature

The term "cuckoo wasp" refers to the cuckoo-like way in which wasps in the family lay eggs in the nests of unrelated host species. The term is also used for some wasps outside of the family, such as '' Sapyga louisi''. Chrysididae, the scientific name of the family, refers to their shiny bodies and is derived from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''chrysis, chrysid-'', "gold vessel, gold-embroidered dress", plus the

familial Familial may refer to: * ''Familial'' (album), a 2010 studio album by Phil Selway *Family, a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence *Family (biology), one of the eight major taxonomic ranks, classified between orde ...

suffix ''-idae''. The common names of many species pay similar tribute to their appearance: jewel wasp, gold wasp, emerald wasp, ruby wasp and so on (cf.

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

''guêpe de feu,'' "fire-wasp", and German / Dutch ''Goldwespe / goudwesp,'' "gold-wasp").

Ecology and behavior

Members of the largest subfamily, Chrysidinae, are the most familiar; they are generally kleptoparasites, laying their eggs in host nests, where their larvae consume the host egg or larva while it is still young, then the food provided by the host for its own juvenile. Chrysidines are distinguished from the members of other subfamilies in that most have flattened or concave lower

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the tors ...

s and can curl into a defensive ball (" volvation") when attacked by a potential host, in the manner of a pill bug. Members of the other subfamilies are parasitoids of either sawflies or walking sticks and cannot fold up into a ball. Chrysidids are always solitary. They fly mainly in the hottest and driest months of summer, preferring subtropical and Mediterranean climates. They favor dry areas and sandy soils; each species is confined to a narrow type of microhabitat where adults may rest or find hosts to parasitize, for example on bare soil or on dead wood where other solitary wasps have their nest holes. Some species visit flowers such as of the Apiaceae,

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae ...

and

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as '' Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, ...

Evolution

The fossil record of the group is fragmentary, the oldest fossil known being from the lower Aptian Turga Formation of Russia. Other

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

specimens are known from the

Albian The Albian is both an age of the geologic timescale and a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the youngest or uppermost subdivision of the Early/Lower Cretaceous Epoch/ Series. Its approximate time range is 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma to 100.5 ± ...

- Cenomanian amber of France, a Cenomanian limestone in Morocco. The upper Santonian Taimyr amber of Russia and the upper Campanian Canadian amber.H. E. Evans. 1969. Three new Cretaceous aculeate wasps (Hymenoptera). ''Psyche'' 76:251-261

References

External links

Western Australian Museum - Cuckoo Wasp factsheet

Chrysis. net
a picture rich and very informative site
Family Chrysididae - Cuckoo Wasps
at Bugguide, images and information.
Chrysididae Identification Guide
An online guide to the Chrysidids of Eastern North America
Hymis de
Images (=Bilder) {{Taxonbar, from=Q935920