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Labeninae

The Labeninae is a subfamily within the parasitoid wasp family Ichneumonidae. The family is divided into 12 extant genera grouped within four tribes.

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Aug 5, 2026
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Labeninae
Labena grallator, Virginia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Ichneumonidae
Subfamily: Labeninae
Ashmead,1900
Tribes
  • Groteini
  • Labenini
  • Poecilocryptini
  • Xenothyrini

The Labeninae is a subfamily within the parasitoid wasp family Ichneumonidae. The family is divided into 12 extant genera grouped within four tribes.1

Distribution

Labeninae are predominantly found in Australia and South America. A few species of Labena and Grotea are found in North America. Research suggests that the family originated on Gondwana before the break-off of Australia.1

Biology

Some species from the tribe Labenini have been reared from wood-boring beetles of the Coleopteran families Buprestidae, Cerambycidae, and Curculionidae.12 Members of the tribe Groteini parasitize solitary bees; Labium wasps are known to parasitise ground-nesting, solitary bees,34 while Grotea are known parasitoids of cavity-nesting, solitary bees.15 Species of Poecilocryptus are thought to be phytophagous, due to adaptations of the larval head capsule.6 However, as with much of the Ichneumonidae, knowledge of many labenine species' ecology, biology, and evolution is extremely limited or completely lacking.

Genera

These genera belong to the subfamily Labeninae:178

Tribe Groteini

  • Grotea Cresson, 1864 c g b
  • Labium Brullé, 1846 c g
  • Ozlabium Gauld & Wahl, 2000 c g

Tribe Labenini

  • Apechoneura Kriechbaumer, 1890 c g
  • Certonotus Kriechbaumer, 1889 c g
  • Gauldianus Lanfranco, 2000 c g
  • Labena Cresson, 1864 c g b
  • Torquinsha Gauld & Wahl, 2000 c g

Tribe Poecilocryptini

  • Alaothyris Gauld, 1984 c g
  • Poecilocryptus Cameron, 1901 c g
  • Urancyla Gauld, 1984 c g

Tribe Xenothyrini

  • Xenothyris Townes, 1969 c g

Data sources: i = ITIS,9 c = Catalogue of Life,10 g = GBIF,11 b = Bugguide.net12

References

References

  1. Gauld, Ian D.; Wahl, David B. (July 2000). "The Labeninae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae): a study in phylogenetic reconstruction and evolutionary biology". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 129 (3): 271–347. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2000.tb00015.x. ISSN 0024-4082.
  2. Herrera-Flórez, Andrés (2012-08-01). "A new species of Apechoneura Kriechbaumer (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Labeninae) from Colombia". ZooKeys (213): 41–49. doi:10.3897/zookeys.213.3309. ISSN 1313-2970. PMC 3426873. PMID 22933853.
  3. Batley, Michael; Brandley, Barry (March 2014). "Phenology of the Australian solitary bee species 'Leioproctus plumosus' (Smith) (Hymenoptera: Colletidae)". Australian Entomologist, the. 41 (1): 7.
  4. Tarlton, Rayment. "A cluster of bees: sixty essays on the life-histories of Australian bees by Tarlton Rayment". Andrew Isles Natural History Books. Archived from the original on 2019-12-18. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  5. Flores-Prado, Luis; Niemeyer, H M (2012-05-30). "Host Location by Ichneumonid Parasitoids is Associated with Nest Dimensions of the Host Bee Species". Neotropical Entomology. 41 (4): 283–287. doi:10.1007/s13744-012-0048-6. ISSN 1519-566X. PMID 23950063. S2CID 5100022.
  6. Ward, D. (2014). "Poecilocryptus zealandicus sp. n.(Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Labeninae) from New Zealand". New Zealand Entomologist. 34 (1): 37–39. doi:10.1080/00779962.2011.9722206.
  7. "Synoptic Lists of World Genera and Family-group Names". American Entomological Institute, Genera Ichneumonorum Nearcticae. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
  8. Carlson, Robert W. (1979). "Ichneumonidae". In Krombein, Karl V.; Hurd, Paul D. Jr.; Smith, David R.; Burks, B.D. (eds.). Catalog of Hymenoptera in America North of Mexico. Vol. 1. Symphyta and Apocrita (Parasitica). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. pp. 385–386.
  9. "ITIS, Integrated Taxonomic Information System". Retrieved 2018-05-16.
  10. "Catalogue of Life". Retrieved 2018-05-16.
  11. "GBIF". Retrieved 2018-05-16.
  12. "Labeninae Subfamily Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
Further reading

Further reading

  • Townes, H.K. (1969) Genera of Ichneumonidae, Part 1 (Ephialtinae, Tryphoninae, Labiinae (=Labeninae), Adelognathinae, Xoridinae, Agriotypinae). Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 11: 1–300.