Tiphiidae

Tiphiid wasps
	Tiphia sp.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Superfamily:	Tiphioidea
Family:	Tiphiidae; Leach, 1815
Subfamilies
	Brachycistidinae Kimsey, 1991; Tiphiinae Leach, 1815;

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]

Quick facts Tiphiid wasps, Scientific classification ...

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.^[7]

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Tiphiidae

Taxonomy

Subfamily Brachycistidinae Kimsey, 1991

Subfamily Tiphiinae Leach, 1815

Examples

Notes

References

Further reading

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