The Tiphiidae (also known as tiphiid wasps,[1]flower wasps,[2][note 1] or tiphiid flower wasps[3]) are a
family of large, solitary
wasps whose larvae are
parasitoids of various
beetle larvae, especially those in the superfamily
Scarabaeoidea.[4] Until recently, this family contained several additional subfamilies, but multiple studies have independently confirmed that these comprise a separate lineage, and are now classified in the family
Thynnidae.[5][6]
The females of some
Brachycistidinae are wingless, and hunt ground-dwelling (
fossorial) beetle larvae.[4] The prey is paralysed with the female's sting, and an egg is laid on it so the wasp larva has a ready supply of food. As some of the ground-dwelling scarab species attacked by tiphiids are pests, some of these wasps are considered beneficial as
biological control agents.[citation needed]
Taxonomy
Tiphiid genera are classified as follows:
[7][8][9]
^
Obeysekara, Piyumi T.; Legrand, Ana (2014). "The Influence of Host Species and Location in the Host Detection Ability of Tiphiid (Hymenoptera: Tiphiidae) Parasitoids". Environmental Entomology. 43 (6): 1594–1602.
doi:
10.1603/EN13275.
PMID25289963.
S2CID31183862.
^"Flower wasps". The Australian Museum. 2020. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
^
Kelaidis, Panayoti; Tankersley, Boyce; Zale, Peter (2019).
"November 2019"(PDF). International Rock Gardener (119): 115 pp.
ISSN2053-7557. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
^
ab
Brothers, Denis J. (1993). "Key to subfamilies of Tiphiidae". In Goulet, Henri; Huber, John T. (eds.). Hymenoptera of the World, an Identification Guide to Families. Ottawa, Ontario: Centre for Land and Biological Resources Research. pp. 178–185.
ISBN0-660-14933-8.
^
Pilgrim, E.; von Dohlen, C.; Pitts, J. (2008). "Molecular phylogenetics of Vespoidea indicate paraphyly of the superfamily and novel relationships of its component families and subfamilies". Zoologica Scripta. 37 (5): 539–560.
doi:
10.1111/j.1463-6409.2008.00340.x.
S2CID85905070.
Arnett, R. H. Jr. (2000) Segunda edición. American insects. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Londres,New York, Washington, D. C.
ISBN0-8493-0212-9
Borror, D. J., DeLong, D. M., Triplehorn, C. A.(1976) cuarta edición. An introduction to the study of insects. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. New York, Chicago.
ISBN0-03-088406-3