Commonly known as cuckoo wasps or emerald wasps, the

hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typi ...

n family Chrysididae is a very large cosmopolitan group (over 3000 described species) of

parasitoid In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...

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 Biological pigment, pigments, although some structural coloration occu ...

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

wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...

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 Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae ( ) family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes ( ). The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals, and anis. The coucals and anis are somet ...

-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: 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 of all kno ...

''chrysis, chrysid-'', "gold vessel, gold-embroidered dress", plus the familial 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 ''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 gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...

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

s of either

sawflies Sawflies are wasp-like insects that are in the suborder Symphyta within the order Hymenoptera, alongside ants, bees, and wasps. The common name comes from the saw-like appearance of the ovipositor, which the females use to cut into the plant ...

walking stick A walking stick (also known as a walking cane, cane, walking staff, or staff) is a device used primarily to aid walking, provide postural stability or support, or assist in maintaining a good posture. Some designs also serve as a fashion acces ...

s and cannot fold up into a ball. Chrysidids are always solitary. They fly mainly in the hottest and driest months of summer in subtropical and Mediterranean climates. They favor dry areas and sandy soils; many species are 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 Apiaceae () or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium,'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot, or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering p ...

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

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 Euphorbia, the type genus of the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', ar ...

. Chrysidid wasps are not only known for their parasitic behavior but also for their exceptional resilience to drought conditions, often remaining dormant for extended periods until suitable hosts become available. Some species have also developed specialized body structures, such as reinforced cuticles, to withstand the attacks of their often-aggressive host species.

Evolution

The fossil record of the group is fragmentary, the oldest fossil known being from the lower

Aptian The Aptian is an age (geology), age in the geologic timescale or a stage (stratigraphy), stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous, Early or Lower Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), S ...

Turga Formation of Russia. Other

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

specimens are known from the

Albian The Albian is both an age (geology), age of the geologic timescale and a stage (stratigraphy), stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the youngest or uppermost subdivision of the Early Cretaceous, Early/Lower Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch/s ...

Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy's (ICS) geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age (geology), age of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or the lowest stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Upper Cretace ...

amber of France, a Cenomanian limestone in Morocco. The upper

Santonian The Santonian is an age in the geologic timescale or a chronostratigraphic stage. It is a subdivision of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 86.3 ± 0.7 mya ( million years ago) and 83.6 ± 0.7 m ...

Taimyr amber of Russia and the upper

Campanian The Campanian is the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous epoch on the geologic timescale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In chronostratigraphy, it is the fifth of six stages in the Upper Cretaceous Series. Campa ...

Canadian amber.H. E. Evans. 1969. Three new Cretaceous aculeate wasps (Hymenoptera). ''Psyche'' 76:251-261

References

Morgan, R. C., & Wilson, J. S. (2019). "Structural Adaptations in Cuckoo Wasps: Defensive Morphology and Host Resistance." Journal of Hymenoptera Research, 72, 115–130.

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