File:
<orussid.htm> [For educational
purposes only] Glossary <Principal Natural Enemy Groups > <Citations> <Home> |
HYMENOPTERA, Orussidae (Siricoidea) -- <Images>
& <Juveniles> The family is based on the genus Oryssus, which comprises only a few species. H. E. Burke in 1917 established that O. hopkinsi
Roh. and O. occidentalis Cress were parasitic, being solitary internal
parasitoids of buprestid beetle larvae (Clausen 1940/1962). Little further is known about the habits
of these species, and of the immature forms only the final instar larva and
pupa have been described (Parker 1934). Mature larvae of O. occidentalis (Rohwer & Cushman
1917, Parker 1934) bear a close resemblance to chalcidoid larvae of the same
instar. It is subcylindrical, with 13
body segments, the legs indicated by sclerotized disks, and each segment bears
a transverse row of 4-5 short, stout spines at each side of the dorsal median
line. There are 10 pairs of
spiracles, situated on the last two thoracic and the first eight abdominal
segments. Those of the metathorax are
rudimentary and nonfunctional. The
head is small, with tubercle-like antennae, and the mandibles narrow and
tridentate. Female pupae bear the
ovipositor over the dorsum, extending slightly beyond the head. The second to eighth abdominal tergites
bear transverse rows of spines at the sides. References: Please refer
to <biology.ref.htm>, [Additional
references may be found at: MELVYL Library] |