''Meteorus rubens'' is a species 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, ...

in the family

Braconidae 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 attacks significant crop pests including the black cutworm, ''

Agrotis ipsilon ''Agrotis ipsilon'', the dark sword-grass, ipsilon dart, black cutworm, greasy cutworm or floodplain cutworm, is a small Noctuidae, noctuid moth found worldwide. The moth gets its scientific name from black markings on its forewings shaped like t ...

''. The wasps have been shown to be easily collected through the use of traps baited with mustard oils. They have been shown to carry Rioviridae RNA viruses, one of only a few parasitoids to carry them.

References

Braconidae {{Ichneumonoidea-stub