Ichneumonoidea, Latreille, 1802

JENNINGS, JOHN T., KROGMANN, LARS & BURWELL, CHRIS, 2013, Review of the hymenopteran fauna of New Caledonia with a checklist of species, Zootaxa 3736 (1), pp. 1-53 : 39

Ichneumonoidea

Braconidae . Braconids are known from 694 described species for Australia and 91 for New Zealand (Stevens et al. 2007; ABRS 2013; Table 1). This probably represents less than 10% of the true size of the Australian fauna. Although 27 braconids have been described from New Caledonia (see Table 1) the fauna is much larger as several undescribed species are known in collections. Interestingly, the genus Chremyloides , with three species otherwise confined to Australia, is also represented in New Caledonia by the endemic C. tobiasi Papp ( Papp 2004) .

The majority of braconids are larval parasitoids but also oviposit into host eggs, pupae or adults. They develop as either primary endo- or ectoparasitoids on a wide variety of insect hosts ( Wahl & Sharkey 1993).

Ichneumonidae . This family probably comprises more than 1,500 species in Australia, however only 433 have been described ( ABRS 2013; Table 1). The New Zealand fauna contains around 90 described species (Stevens et al. 2007; Table 1). The family is known from New Caledonia by 45 described species or subspecies ( Gupta 1987; Table 1). Of these, Agrypon dozense Cheesman and Netelia (Netelia) shopar Cheesman , are endemic to the Loyalty Islands. Quite a few of the ichneumonid species from New Caledonia (see Table 1) are either cosmopolitan (e.g. Diplazon laetatorius (Fabricius)) or have a broader distribution in the southern tropics (e.g. Echthromorpha agrestoria (Swederus) (Broad, pers. comm.).

Adults are commonly seen at flowers or searching for hosts around tree trunks, logs, vegetation, or in litter. Biologically, the group is very diverse. They can be ecto- or endoparasitoids, parasitising the larvae, prepupae or pupae of various endopterygote insects, and more rarely spiders and spider egg sacs. Some species are hyperparasitoids.