Anomaloninae

Description

Anomaloninae contains slender and often strikingly colored wasps. The abdomen is laterally compressed and elongate, the first sternite ending close to the end of the first segment. The legs, especially the hind-legs, are similarly elongated. Members of the largest of the two tribes, Gravenhorstiini, are recognized by the unique structure of their propodeum. It lacks defined carinae and is instead dominated by coarse rugose sculpture, a character not seen in any other subfamily. The smaller tribe Anomalonini (containing only one northern European species, Anomalon cruentatum) generally have some week carinae on the propodeum, instead being recognized by the single spur on the middle tibiae in combination with its unmistakable habitatus (short wings and Anomaloninae-like shape). All Anomalonines have forewings without closed areolets.

Ecology

As far as it is known all Anomalonines are solitary koinobiont endoparasitoids of Lepidoptera (Gravenhorstiini) or Tenebrionidae (Anomalonini). Females of Gravenhorstiini fly with a characteristic flight pattern when searching for their hosts, hovering above low vegetation while making gentle up-and-down movements. The elongate and often brightly colored hind legs make these females very conspicuous.

Distribution

Anomaloninae is a cosmopolitan subfamily, with around 750 described species. Around 50 species are known to occur in northern Europe, many of which are rather common.

References

Broad, G. R., Shaw, M. R., & Fitton, M. G. (2018). Handbooks for the identification of British insects Vol. 7, part 12 Ichneumonid wasps : (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae): their classification and biology. Royal Entomological Society of London

Pénigot, W. (2021). Liste et clé d’identification pour les Anomaloninae de la faune de France, avec la description d’une espèce nouvelle du genre Therion (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae). Bulletin de la Société entomologique de France, 126 (3): 253-328.

Gauld, I.D. & Mitchell, P.A., (1977). Ichneumonidae - Orthopelmatinae & Anomaloninae, Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects, Royal Entomological Society, Vol VII, 2(b)

Townes, H. (1971). The genera of Ichneumonidae, part 4. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute, 17: 1-372

SLU Artdatabanken (2024). Artfakta: Anomaloninae. https://artfakta.se/taxa/1000051 [2024-07-13]

Finlands Artdatacenter (2024). LAJI.FI: Anomaloninae. https://laji.fi/sv/taxon/MX.310678 [2024-07-13]

BugWeb

Anomaloninae

Keys

Northern European species and larger genera

Gallery

References