Cheloninae is a cosmopolitan subfamily of braconid parasitoid wasps.
Description Most Cheloninae are small and uniformly colored. They have a characteristic metasomal carapace formed from the fusion of the first three tergites.
Biology
They are solitary koinobionts which parasitize Lepidoptera, especially Pyraloidea and Tortricoidea, but also other taxa whose larvae bore in stems, buds or fruits. Chelonines are egg-larval parasitoids, meaning they oviposit into a host egg, but the wasp larvae do not complete development until the caterpillar has hatched and matured. Chelonines carry polydnaviruses which aid in overcoming their hosts' immune system.
Taxonomy and phylogeny The tribe Adeliini previously was thought to belong to the Adeliinae, but is now confirmed to be nested within Cheloninae.
Genera Genera placed in Cheloninae include: Tribe Adeliini Adelius Haliday, 1834 Carinadelius Ranjith & van Achterberg, 2021 Paradelius de Saeger, 1942 Sinadelius He and Chen, 2000 Sculptomyriola Belokobylskij, 1988
Tribe Chelonini Ascogaster Wesmael, 1835 (paraphyletic?) Austroascogaster Kittel and Austin, 2014 Chelonus Panzer, 1806 †Diodontogaster Brues, 1933 †Eobracon Cockerell, 1920 Leptodrepana Shaw, 1990 Megascogaster Baker, 1926
Tribe Odontosphaeropygini Odontosphaeropyx Cameron, 1910
Tribe Phanerotomini Dentigaster Zettel, 1990 Huseyinia Koçak and Kemal, 2008 Leptochelonus Zettel, 1990 Phanaustrotoma Kittel and Austin, 2014 Phanerotoma Wesmael, 1838 Phanerotomella Szépligeti, 1900 Phanerotomoides Zettel, 1990 Pseudophanerotoma Zettel, 1990 Siniphanerotomella He et al., 1994 Wushenia Zettel, 1990
References
External links
photos on BugGuide.net