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Microgastrinae is a subfamily of braconid wasps, encompassing 2,000 described species, with an estimated 5,000-10,000 total species. This makes it one of the most specious subfamilies of parasitoid wasps.
Contents
Genera
Genera within this subfamily include:
Description and distribution
These wasps are quite small, with long antennae and a dark marking on the wings. Species within this subfamily has an almost worldwide distribution. A known 135 species of Microgastrinae have been traced to Canada, though the number may be as high as 275. At least 28 species have been traced to Turkey in Gökçeada and Bozcaada.
Biology
Microgastrinae wasps are primary gregarious braconid parasitoids on other insects, especially upon the larval stages of Lepidoptera. They usually lay more eggs on / in the same caterpillar. When the eggs hatch the young wasp larvae feed on blood, hemolymph and organs of their host. Later the larvae leave the caterpillar and immediately they make their cocoons, that stay attached to the remains of their host or to the vegetation without falling, even after the wasps emerge.
