Superfamily STEPHANOIDEA
Parasitic Wasps
Compiler and date details
15 February 2003 - J.T. Jennings, N.B. Stevens & A.D. Austin, Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Introduction
This superfamily comprises a single family, Stephanidae, which is considered by some authors to be the most basal group of apocritan wasps (Whitfield 1992). Stephanids are mostly tropical in distribution, with about 300 species described worldwide. They are ectoparasitoids on wood-boring insect larvae, Cerambycidae, Buprestidae and members of several other families of beetles, as well as siricid wasp larvae being attacked (Aguiar 2001). Solitary bees apparently can also be attacked (Königsmann 1978).
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 J.T. Jennings, N.B. Stevens, M. Iqbal & A.D. Austin 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 were provided by ABRS.
Database Notes
Taxa at each hierarchical level are listed in alphabetical order.
(no title)
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
Aguiar, A.P. 2001. Revision of the Australian Stephanidae (Hymenoptera). Invertebrate Taxonomy 15: 763-822
Königsmann, E. 1978. Das phylogenetische System der Hymenoptera, Teil 4: Aculeata (Unterordnung Apocrita). Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 25: 365-435
Whitfield, J.B. 1992. Phylogeny of the non-aculeate Apocrita and the evolution of parasitism in the Hymenoptera. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 1: 3-14
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12-Feb-2010 | (import) |