Aphidiinae

Aphidiinae
	Praon cocoon below hollowed aphid
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Braconidae
Subfamily:	Aphidiinae; Haliday, 1833
Diversity
	c. 50 genera, 400 species

The Aphidiinae are a subfamily of tiny parasitoid wasps that use aphids as their hosts. Several species have been used in biological control programs of various aphids.

Biology and distribution

Aphidiines are koinobiont endoparasitoids of adult and immature aphids. While the larva of the 2–3 mm long Praon leaves the hollowed shell of the aphid from below to pupate in a volcano-like cocoon, most other Aphidiinae pupate inside the dead aphid and break out afterwards.

These wasps are found worldwide, but are primarily found in the northern hemisphere. Several species have been introduced to countries outside of their natural range, both accidentally and purposefully for biocontrol.^[1]

Systematics

Although they have often been treated as a separate family, the Aphidiidae, the Aphidiinae are a lineage within the Braconidae. It is not yet clear to which braconid subfamilies they are most closely related.

Ephedrini

Praini

Aphidiini

	Monoctonina

	Trioxina

	Aphidiina

Aphidiinae relationships
(after Shi & Chen 2005)

The Aphidiinae are subdivided into several tribes, the Ephedrini, Praini, Trioxini, Aclitini, and Aphidiini, with the latter subdivided into three subtribes.^[2] Most species reside in the Aphidiini. The Praini's loss of internal pupation is likely to be secondary.^[3]

There are ~400 spp. in ~50 genera worldwide.

Genera

Aclitus

Aphidiini

Footnotes

^ Wharton, Robert A.; Marsh, Paul M.; Sharkey, Michael J. (1997). Manual of the New World Genera of the Family Braconidae (Hymenoptera) (PDF). Washington DC: The International Society of Hymenopterists. p. 69.
^ Shi & Chen 2005
^ Belshaw & Quicke 1997
^ Žikić, et al. 2012

References

Belshaw, R. & Quicke, D.L.J. (1997): A Molecular Phylogeny of the Aphidiinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 7(3): 281-293. Abstract
Shi, Min & Chen, Xue-Xin (2005): Molecular phylogeny of the Aphidiinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) based on DNA sequences of 16S rRNA, 18S rDNA and ATPase 6 genes. Eur. J. Entomol. 102: 133-138. PDF
Žikić, V., Ilić, M., Stanković, S., Petrović, A., Petrović-Obradović, O., Kavallieratos, N. G., Starý, P., and Tomanović, Ž. (2012): Aphidiinae (Braconidae: Hymenoptera) of Serbia and Montenegro – tritrophic interactions. Acta Entomologica Serbica 17(1/2): 83-105. [1]

External links

BugGuide.net: Information and Pictures of Aphidiinae
Cedar Creek: Picture of a Praon sp.
brown citrus aphid parasitoid, Lipolexis scutellaris on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site

[1] Wharton, Robert A.; Marsh, Paul M.; Sharkey, Michael J. (1997). Manual of the New World Genera of the Family Braconidae (Hymenoptera) (PDF). Washington DC: The International Society of Hymenopterists. p. 69.

[2] Shi & Chen 2005

[3] Belshaw & Quicke 1997

[4] Žikić, et al. 2012

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]