Brachymeria

Brachymeria
Adult Brachymeria that has emerged from a pupa of Euploea core
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Chalcididae
Subfamily:	Chalcidinae
Genus:	Brachymeria Westwood, 1829
Species:	over 300, see text

Brachymeria is a genus of parasitic wasps in the family Chalcididae. Over 300 species are known worldwide, all of them parasites of insect larvae.^[1] Most species are black with limited yellow markings, and like most chalcidid wasps, they have enlarged hind femora. The female typically lays eggs inside the larva of a lepidopteran using its ovipositor. Although mostly parasitic on Lepidoptera, a few are hyperparasites (parasites of parasitic Hymenoptera and Diptera), or attack other types of insect larvae (such as Polistes erythrocephalus).^[2] The adult parasites emerge typically from the host pupa. Some species have been used in biological control.

References

1. Joseph, K.J.; Narendran, T.C.; Joy, P.J. (1973). Oriental Brachymeria: a monograph on the oriental species of Brachymeria (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae). Department of Zoology, University of Calicut.
2. Nelson, John M. (1971). "Nesting habits and nest symbionts of Polistes erythrocephalus Latreille (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in Costa Rica" (PDF). Rev. Biol. Trop. 18 (1-2): 89–98.