Labeninae Explained

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

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.

Biology

Some species from the tribe Labenini have been reared from wood-boring beetles of the Coleopteran families Buprestidae, Cerambycidae, and Curculionidae.^[1] Members of the tribe Groteini parasitize solitary bees; Labium wasps are known to parasitise ground-nesting, solitary bees,^{[2] [3]} while Grotea are known parasitoids of cavity-nesting, solitary bees.^[4] Species of Poecilocryptus are thought to be phytophagous, due to adaptations of the larval head capsule. 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:

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, c = Catalogue of Life, g = GBIF, b = Bugguide.net

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.

Notes and References

1. Herrera-Flórez. Andrés. 2012-08-01. A new species of Apechoneura Kriechbaumer (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Labeninae) from Colombia. ZooKeys. 213. 41–49. 10.3897/zookeys.213.3309. 22933853. 3426873. 1313-2970. free.
2. Batley. Michael. Brandley. Barry. March 2014. Phenology of the Australian solitary bee species 'Leioproctus plumosus' (Smith) (Hymenoptera: Colletidae). Australian Entomologist, the. EN. 41. 1. 7.
3. Web site: A cluster of bees: sixty essays on the life-histories of Australian bees by Tarlton Rayment. Tarlton. Rayment. Andrew Isles Natural History Books. en-US. 2019-12-18.
4. 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. 10.1007/s13744-012-0048-6. 23950063. 5100022. 1519-566X.