Superfamily CHRYSIDOIDEA

Chrysididae

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Introduction

This superfamily has seven families of which only the Plumariidae does not occur in Australia. Chrysidoidea comprises a morphologically diverse assemblage of taxa, all of which are parasitic on other insects. The Scolebythidae, Embolemidae and Sclerogibbidae are recorded from Australia from only a handful of species. The Dryinidae, Bethylidae and Chrysididae, however, are speciose groups with each comprising 100-250 species, many of which are undescribed. The superfamily displays a range of variation in key morphological characters. For instance, the Plumariidae have moderately complete venation, whereas some members of the Dryinidae, Bethylidae and Chrysididae have the forewing venation reduced to only a single closed cell. Numerous representatives across the superfamily also have wingless, ant-like females and fully-winged males.

For a comprehensive overview of world Chrysidoidea refer to Kimsey & Bohart (1990), and for Australia, Naumann (1991).

Acknowledgements

The compilation of this checklist was part of an ongoing project to complete the databasing of the Australian Hymenoptera. It was a co-operative project involving A.D. Austin, J.T. Jennings, N.B. Stevens & M. Iqbal of the Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, The University of Adelaide, and the Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS). Funding, editorial and Platypus technical support was provided by ABRS.

Database Notes

Taxa at each hierarchical level are listed in alphabetical order.

Limital area

Distribution data in the Directory is by political and geographic region descriptors and serves as a guide to the distribution of a taxon. For details of a taxon's distribution, the reader should consult the cited references (if any) at genus and species levels.

Australia is defined as including Lord Howe Is., Norfolk Is., Cocos (Keeling) Ils, Christmas Is., Ashmore and Cartier Ils, Macquarie Is., Australian Antarctic Territory, Heard and McDonald Ils, and the waters associated with these land areas of Australian political responsibility. Political areas include the adjacent waters.

Terrestrial geographical terms are based on the drainage systems of continental Australia, while marine terms are self explanatory except as follows: the boundary between the coastal and oceanic zones is the 200 m contour; the Arafura Sea extends from Cape York to 124° E; and the boundary between the Tasman and Coral Seas is considered to be the latitude of Fraser Island, also regarded as the southern terminus of the Great Barrier Reef.

Distribution records, if any, outside these areas are listed as extralimital. The distribution descriptors for each species are collated to genus level. Users are advised that extralimital distribution for some taxa may not be complete.

General References

Kimsey, L.S. & Bohart, R.M. 1990. The Chrysidid Wasps of the World. New York : Oxford University Press 652 pp.

Naumann, I.D. 1991. Hymenoptera (Wasps, bees, ants, sawflies). pp. 916-1000 in CSIRO (ed). The Insects of Australia. A textbook for students and research workers. Carlton : Melbourne University Press.

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