Leucospidae

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Hymenopterida
Ordo: Hymenoptera
Subordo: Apocrita
Superfamilia: Chalcidoidea

Familia: Leucospidae
Genera (4): Leucospis – Micrapion – Neleucospis – Polistomorpha
Source(s) of checklist:
Checklist based uncritically on UCD
Name

Leucopsidae Fabricius, 1775

References

Fabricius, J.C. 1775. Systema entomologiae, sistens insectorum classes, ordines, genera, species, adiectis synonymis, locis, descriptionibus, observationibus. Libraria Kortii, Flensburgi et Lipsiae. xvi+ 832 pp. DOI: 10.5962/bhl.title.36510. BHL. Reference page.
Lima, A.R. & Dias, P.G. 2018. The New World species of Leucospis Fabricius, 1775 (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Leucospidae): an update of Bouček’s revision with description of two new species from Brazil. Zootaxa 4441(1): 1–45. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4441.1.1 Paywall Reference page.
Pujade-Villar, J.; Caicedo, G. 2011: Description of a new Colombian species of Leucospidae: Leucospis vallicaucaensis n. sp. (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea). Dugesiana, 17(2): 137–142. PDF
Schmid-Egger 2010: Order Hymenoptera, family Leucospidae. Arthropod fauna of the UAE, 3: 319–324. [not seen]
Ye X-H., van Achterberg, C., Yue, Q. & Xu, Z-F. 2017. Review of the Chinese Leucospidae (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea). ZooKeys 651: 107-157. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.651.11235. Reference page.

Vernacular names
日本語: シリアゲコバチ科

The Leucospidae (sometimes incorrectly spelled Leucospididae) are a specialized group of wasps within the superfamily Chalcidoidea, that are ectoparasitoids of aculeate wasps or bees. They are typically mimics of bees or stinging wasps, often black with yellow, red, or white markings, sometimes metallic, with a robust mesosoma and very strong sculpturing. The hind femora are often greatly enlarged, with a row of teeth or serrations along the lower margin as in Chalcididae. The wing has a longitudinal fold. The female ovipositor is sometimes short, but if not, it is recurved and lies along the dorsal side of the metasoma, a unique feature. The males are also unusual, in the fusion of many of the metasomal segments to form a capsule-like "carapace".

Leucospidae are external parasitoids of larval hymenoptera, mostly solitary bees but some solitary wasps, and there is a case of a hyperparasitoid. The eggs are laid inside the nests of the host and upon hatching, they feed on the host larva. Usually only a single adult parasite emerges from a single host brood cell. Leucospis pinna, which parasitizes the orchid bee Eulaema meriana, is known to have multiple adults emerging from a single brood cell of the host.[1][2] Leucopsis dorsigera is considered a hyperparasite, as it is a parasite of Xorides sp. which in turn is a parasitoid of a cerambycid beetle larva boring inside the stems of apricots.[3] Leucospids are rarely encountered except in areas where their hosts are abundant; in the United States, the best-known species is Leucospis affinis, which parasitizes leafcutter bees.[4]

There are four genera with about 130 species which are known, of which nearly 44 are from the New World, mostly from the Neotropics. A fossil species Leucospis glaesaria has been described from Early Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic.[5] The Leucospidae have traditionally been suggested as a sister group of the Chalcididae, based on morphology, but a 2011 phylogenetic analysis found that the Leucospidae were a monophyletic lineage but with uncertain placement within the Chalcidoidea and not closely related to the Chalcididae. The study found that the genus Oodera (Pteromalidae: Cleonyminae) was close to the Leucospidae, a result confirmed by a 2018 study.[6][7][8]
References

Grissell, E.E.; Cameron, S.A. (2002). "A new Leucospis Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Leucospidae), the First Reported Gregarious Species" (PDF). Journal of Hymenoptera Research. 11 (2): 271–278.
Gazola, Ana Lúcia; Garófalo, Carlos Alberto (2003). "Parasitic Behavior of Leucospis cayennensis Westwood (Hymenoptera: Leucospidae) and Rates of Parasitism in Populations of Centris (Heterocentris) analis (Fabricius) (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Centridini)". Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society. 76 (2): 131–142. ISSN 0022-8567. JSTOR 25086098.
Hesami, S; Akrami MA; Baur, H (2005). "Leucospis dorsigera Fabricius (Hymenoptera, Leucospidae) as a Hyperparasitoid of Cerambycidae (Coleoptera) through Xoridinae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) in Iran" (PDF). Journal of Hymenoptera Research. 14 (1): 66–68.
Cowan, David P. (3 November 2017). "Parasitism of Ancistrocerus Antilope(Hymenoptera:Eumenidae) by Leucospis affinis (Hymenoptera:Leucospididae)". The Great Lakes Entomologist. 19 (3): 177–179.
Engel, Michael S. (1 March 2002). "The first leucospid wasp from the fossil record (Hymenoptera: Leucospidae)". Journal of Natural History. 36 (4): 435–441. doi:10.1080/00222930110059682. ISSN 0022-2933. S2CID 84404452.
Munro, James B.; Heraty, John M.; Burks, Roger A.; Hawks, David; Mottern, Jason; Cruaud, Astrid; Rasplus, Jean-Yves; Jansta, Petr (3 November 2011). DeSalle, Robert (ed.). "A Molecular Phylogeny of the Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera)". PLOS ONE. 6 (11): e27023. Bibcode:2011PLoSO...627023M. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0027023. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3207832. PMID 22087244.
Peters, Ralph S.; Niehuis, Oliver; Gunkel, Simon; Bläser, Marcel; Mayer, Christoph; Podsiadlowski, Lars; Kozlov, Alexey; Donath, Alexander; van Noort, Simon; Liu, Shanlin; Zhou, Xin (2018). "Transcriptome sequence-based phylogeny of chalcidoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) reveals a history of rapid radiations, convergence, and evolutionary success". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 120: 286–296. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2017.12.005. PMID 29247847.
Boucek, Z. (1974). "A revision of the Leucospidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) of the world". Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology Supplement. 23: 1–240. doi:10.5962/p.140909.