Lyciscidae is a family of

chalcid wasp Chalcid wasps (, , for their metallic colour) are insects within the superfamily Chalcidoidea, part of the order Hymenoptera. The superfamily contains some 22,500 known species, and an estimated total diversity of more than 500,000 species, me ...

s. The genera comprising this family were previously placed in the Cleonyminae subfamily of a

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

Pteromalidae The Pteromalidae are a very large family of mostly parasitoid wasps, with some 3,450 described species in about 640 genera (the number was greater, but many species and genera have been reduced by synonymy in recent years). The subfamily-level d ...

Description and biology

Many species have metallic green, blue and bronze colours, and stout hind legs and fore legs. The females of most species have a tapered abdomen and a long ovipositor suited to accessing hosts concealed in wood; they are often encountered on trunks or branches of trees. Many are

parasitoids In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionary strategies within parasi ...

of wood-boring beetles of the families

Buprestidae Buprestidae is a family of beetles known as jewel beetles or metallic wood-boring beetles because of their glossy iridescent colors. Larvae of this family are known as flatheaded borers. The family is among the largest of the beetles, with some ...

(jewel beetles), Cerambycidae (longhorn beetles), and

Curculionidae The Curculionidae are a family of weevils, commonly called snout beetles or true weevils. They are one of the largest animal families, with 6,800 genera and 83,000 species described worldwide. They are the sister group to the family Brentidae. T ...

(weevils). However, some '' Agamerion'' species are parasitoids of

cockroach Cockroaches (or roaches) are a paraphyletic group of insects belonging to Blattodea, containing all members of the group except termites. About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known as ...

egg masses, ''

Epistenia ''Epistenia'' is a genus of wasps in the family Pteromalidae The Pteromalidae are a very large family of mostly parasitoid wasps, with some 3,450 described species in about 640 genera (the number was greater, but many species and genera have ...

'' species parasitize twig-nesting aculate wasps and bees, and '' Marxiana grandiosa'' is a

hyperparasite A hyperparasite, also known as a metaparasite, is a parasite whose host, often an insect, is also a parasite, often specifically a parasitoid. Hyperparasites are found mainly among the wasp-waisted Apocrita within the Hymenoptera, and in two othe ...

braconid wasps The Braconidae are a family of parasitoid wasps. After the closely related Ichneumonidae, braconids make up the second-largest family in the order Hymenoptera, with about 17,000 recognized species and many thousands more undescribed. One analysis ...

(which are, in turn,

of wood-boring beetles).Gibson, G.A., 2003. Phylogenetics and classification of Cleonyminae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae). Associated Publishers
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Subfamilies and genera

Lyciscinae

'' Agamerion'', '' Amazonisca'', '' Chadwickia'', ''

'', '' Eupelmophotismus'', '' Hadroepistenia'', '' Hedqvistia'', '' Lycisca'', '' Marxiana'', '' Mesamotura'', '' Neboissia'', '' Neoepistenia'', '' Nepistenia'', '' Paralycisca'', '' Parepistenia'', '' Proglochin'', '' Proshizonotus'', '' Protoepistenia'', '' Riekisura'', '' Romanisca'', '' Scaphepistenia'', '' Shedoepistenia'', '' Striatacanthus'', '' Thaumasura'', '' Urolycisca'', '' Westwoodiana''.

Solenurinae

'' Grooca'', '' Solenura''.

Gallery

Agamerion 1 96197467.jpg, ''Agamerion'' sp., Australia. Epistenia 2-101845654.jpg, '' Epistenia coeruleata'', USA. Eupelmophotismus 4-109040441.jpg, ''Eupelmophotismus'' sp., Australia. Thaumasura 7-36458636.jpg, ''Thaumasura'' sp., Australia. Solenura ania (10.3897-BDJ.8.e54961) Figure 4.jpg, ''Solenura ania'', China.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q115803765 Chalcidoidea Apocrita families