The Hymenopteran superfamily of

parasitoid wasp Parasitoid wasps are a large group of hymenopteran 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, sooner or later cau ...

s, Platygastroidea, has often been treated as a lineage within the superfamily

Proctotrupoidea Proctotrupoidea is a hymenopteran superfamily containing seven extant families, though others have been recognized in the past, most of these having been removed to a recently erected superfamily Diaprioidea Diaprioidea is a hymenopteran supe ...

, but most classifications since 1977 have recognized it as an independent group within the

Proctotrupomorpha Proctotrupomorpha is a major subgrouping of the Apocrita within the Hymenoptera, containing mainly parasitic wasps Parasitoid wasps are a large group of hymenopteran superfamilies, with all but the wood wasps ( Orussoidea) being in the w ...

. It is presently has some 4000 described species.Talamas EJ, Johnson NF, Shih C, Ren D (2019) Proterosceliopsidae: A new family of Platygastroidea from Cretaceous amber. In: Talamas E (Eds) Advances in the Systematics of Platygastroidea II. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 73: 3-38. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.73.32256 They are exclusively parasitic in nature. The family

Scelionidae The hymenopteran family Scelionidae is a very large cosmopolitan group (over 3000 described species in some 176 genera) of exclusively parasitoid wasps, mostly small (0.5–10 mm), often black, often highly sculptured, with (typically) elbowe ...

was briefly considered to be a subfamily of the

Platygastridae The hymenopteran family Platygastridae (sometimes incorrectly spelled Platygasteridae) is a large group (over 4000 species) of exclusively parasitoid wasps, mostly very small (1–2 mm), black, and shining, with geniculate (elbowed) anten ...

, though subsequent analyses have reversed this decision. Chen et al (2021) recognizes eight families, including five new extant families (

Geoscelionidae Geoscelionidae is a family of wasps in the superfamily Platygastroidea. It contains three extant species in two genera, native to South America and Africa, and several other genera known from fossils. It was originally erected as the tribe Geoscel ...

Janzenellidae ''Janzenella'' is a genus of wasp, the only member of the family Janzenellidae within the superfamily Platygastroidea. It contains only a single living species, ''Janzenella innupta,'' which has only been collected in Costa Rica. Fossil members o ...

Neuroscelionidae Neuroscelionidae is a family of wasps in the superfamily Platygastroidea. It contains only one extant genus, '' Neuroscelio'', with two other genera known from fossils. Members of ''Neuroscelio'' are known from Southeast Asia and Australia. Their ...

Nixoniidae ''Nixonia'' is a genus of wasps. It is the only member of the family Nixoniidae in the superfamily Platygastroidea. They are amongst the largest of the platygastroids at up to 9 mm in length. Members of the genus are known from Africa, the I ...

, and

Sparasionidae Sparasionidae is a family of wasps in the superfamily Platygastroidea. Known species are parasitioids of the eggs of orthopterans. Taxonomy * '' Archaeoteleia'' Masner Burmese amber, Late Cretaceous ( Cenomanian) Baltic amber, Eocene New Zeal ...

) and one extinct family †

Proterosceliopsidae ''Proterosceliopsis'' is an extinct genus of platygastroid parasitic wasp, known from the Mid-Cretaceous of Eurasia. The genus was first described in 2014 from the Albian amber of the Escucha Formation. In 2019 additional species were described ...

, known from fossils found in

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 ...

amber. Members of the group are known from the

Early Cretaceous The Early Cretaceous (geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous ( chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma. Geology Pr ...

to present. The ancestral hosts of the group are

orthopterans Orthoptera () is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets, including closely related insects, such as the bush crickets or katydids and wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – grassho ...

, with various lineages switching hosts to other insects. Trissolcus on Chinavia eggs

References

External links

Bugguide.net. Superfamily Platygastroidea
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1942066 Apocrita superfamilies