''Ichneumon'' is a genus of

parasitoid wasp Parasitoid wasps are a large group of hymenopteran Superfamily (zoology), superfamilies, with all but the wood wasps (Orussoidea) being in the wasp-waisted Apocrita. As parasitoids, they lay their eggs on or in the bodies of other arthropods, ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Ichneumonidae The Ichneumonidae, also known as ichneumon wasps, ichneumonid wasps, ichneumonids, or Darwin wasps, are a family of parasitoid wasps of the insect order Hymenoptera. They are one of the most diverse groups within the Hymenoptera with roughly 25 ...

Selected species

This genus includes about 270 species: *'' Ichneumon eumerus'' Wesmael, 1857 *'' Ichneumon extensorius''

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the starting point of modern zoologic ...

*'' Ichneumon insidiosus'' Wesmael, 1844 *'' Ichneumon nyassae'' Heinrich, 1967 *'' Ichneumon rubriornatus'' Cameron, 1904 *'' Ichneumon sarcitorius''

*'' Ichneumon tottor'' Thunberg, 1822 *'' Ichneumon unicinctus'' Brullé, 1846 *'' Ichneumon centrator'' Say, 1825

Cultural significance

In the eighteenth century ''Ichneumon'' was regarded as an instance of the God-given balance in nature; in the nineteenth the possibility of using it as a form of biocontrol was briefly entertained. It was used as the symbol of the reformed

Entomological Society of London The Royal Entomological Society is a learned society devoted to the study of insects. It aims to disseminate information about insects and to improve communication between entomologists. The society was founded in 1833 as the Entomological S ...

in 1833. Ichneumon laetus female.jpg, '' Ichneumon laetus'' female Ichneumon ultimus female.jpg, '' Ichneumon ultimus'' female Ichneumon mendax female.jpg, '' Ichneumon mendax'' female

References

Biolib

Ichneumonidae genera Ichneumoninae {{Ichneumonidae-stub