- Megaspilidae
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Megaspilidae 
Ceraphron halidayi illustration from British Entomology Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Hymenoptera Suborder: Apocrita Superfamily: Ceraphronoidea Family: Megaspilidae Genera see text
Megaspilidae is a small Hymenopteran family with 12 genera in two subfamilies, and some 450 known species, with a great many species still undescribed. It is a poorly known group as a whole, though most are believed to be parasitoids (esp. of Sternorrhynchan Hemiptera), and a few hyperparasitoids. Many are found in the soil, and of these, a number are wingless.
The family is distinguished from the closely related Ceraphronidae by having a very large stigma in the wing, a relatively constricted metasomal petiole, and 3 grooves in the mesoscutum.
References
- Alekseev, V. N., 1978/1987 Family Megaspilidae (Megaspilids). In: G. S. Medvedev (ed.) 1987, Keys to the Insects of the European Part of the USSR. Vol. 3 Hymenoptera, Pt. 2. Akad. Nauk., Zool. Inst., Leningrad, SSSR. (trans. fr. Russian, Amerind. Publ. Co., Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi). 1341 p.
- Johnson, N.F. & Musetti, L., 2004. Catalog of systematic literature of the superfamily Ceraphronoidea Hymenoptera).Contributions of the American Entomological Institute 33: 1-149
- Watson, L., and Dallwitz M.J., 2003. British insects: the families of Hymenoptera.Version: 16 July 2011 [1]
External links
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