Rhyssini

Giant ichneumon Rhyssa persuasoria, photographed by Paweł Strykowski.

Belongs within: Pimplinae.

The Rhyssini is a group of ichneumon wasps characterised by transverse rugae on the mesoscutum together with a cornute process on the hind end of the last visible tergite in females (Gauld 1984). The develop as parasitoids on wood-boring larvae of beetles and wood wasps; females have elongate ovipositors in order to drill deep into wood to find hosts. A number of species of this group have been deliberately introduced outside their native ranges to help control timber pest species. In members of the genera Epirhyssa and Megarhyssa, the first metasomal tergite is fused to the corresponding sternite, and the pronotum has a deep mediodorsal transverse groove separating off a recurved anterior lip (Gauld 1984).

Rhyssini [Rhyssinae]
    |--Cytorhyssa mesopyrrha (Mocsàry 1905) (see below for synonymy) IK05
    |--Lytarmes IK05
    |    |--L. clarippenis (Cameron 1907) [=Rhyssa clarippenis] IK05
    |    `--L. maculipennis (Smith 1858) (see below for synonymy) IK05
    |--Triancyra luzonica IK05
    |    |--T. l. luzonica IK05
    |    `--T. l. citeria Kamath & Gupta 1972 IK05
    |--Epirhyssa Cresson 1865 [incl. Rhyssonota Kriechbaumer 1890] G84
    |    |--*E. speciosa G84
    |    |--E. biroi N91
    |    `--‘*Rhyssonota’ tristis G84
    |--Myllenyxis IK05
    |    |--M. javensis Kamath & Gupta 1972 IK05
    |    |--M. kuchingensis Kamath & Gupta 1972 IK05
    |    |--M. muelleri (Vollenhoven 1879) (see below for synonymy) IK05
    |    `--M. variegate Kamath & Gupta 1972 IK05
    |--Megarhyssa Ashmead 1900 [=Megalorhyssa Schulz 1906, Thalessa Holmgren 1859 non Adams & Adams 1853] G84
    |    |--‘Ichneumon’ gigas Linnaeus 1758 L58 [incl. I. clavatus G84, *Megarhyssa clavata G84, *Thalessa clavata G84]
    |    |--M. emarginatoria G84
    |    |--‘Thalessa’ lunator R13
    |    |--M. mirabilis (Smith 1858) [=Rhyssa mirabilis, Thalessa mirabilis] IK05
    |    `--M. nortoni N91
    |--Rhyssa Gravenhorst 1829 [=Pararhyssa Walsh 1873; incl. Cryptocentrum Kirby 1837] G84
    |    |--*R. persuasoria (Linnaeus 1758) G84, L58 [=Ichneumon persuasorius G84, *Pararhyssa persuasoria G84]
    |    |--R. alaskensis G84
    |    |--R. amoena G84
    |    |--R. approximator MS01
    |    |--R. crevieri G84
    |    |--R. hoferi G84
    |    |--R. howdenorum G84
    |    |--R. jozana G84
    |    |--R. lineolata [=*Cryptocentrum lineolatum] G84
    |    `--R. nigricornis MS01
    `--Sychnostigma Baltazar 1961 [=Hierax Tossquinet 1903 non Vigors 1826] G84
         |--*S. raptor [=*Hierax raptor, Epirhyssa raptor] G84
         |--S. asperum Kamath & Gupta 1972 IK05
         |--S. bimaculatum (Cameron 1903) [=Epirhyssa bimaculata, Ahyborhyssa bimaculata] IK05
         |--S. binarium Kamath & Gupta 1972 IK05
         |--S. cruciatum (Cameron 1907) [=Epirhyssa cruciata] IK05
         |--S. flavopictum (Smith 1858) (see below for synonymy) IK05
         |--S. gephyrum Kamath & Gupta 1972 IK05
         |--S. kerrichi Kamath & Gupta 1972 IK05
         |--S. maai Kamath & Gupta 1972 IK05
         |--S. maculiceps (Cameron 1905) [=Epirhyssa maculiceps, Ahyborhyssa maculiceps] IK05
         |--S. malayanum Kamath & Gupta 1972 IK05
         |--S. nigrobalteatum (Cameron 1903) [=Epirhyssa nigrobalteata, Ahybohyssa nigrobalteata] IK05
         |--S. sarawakense Kamath & Gupta 1972 IK05
         |--S. silvaticum Kamath & Gupta 1972 IK05
         |--S. spiloptera (Cameron 1905) [=Epirhyssa spiloptera, Ahyborhyssa spiloptera] IK05
         `--S. vulgare Baltazar 1961 [=S. vulgaris] IK05

Cytorhyssa mesopyrrha (Mocsàry 1905) [=Rhyssa mesopyrrha; incl. Lytarmes giganteus Enderlien 1919, Epirhyssa tuberculata Cameron 1906] IK05

Lytarmes maculipennis (Smith 1858) [=Rhyssa maculipennis; incl. R. nigritarsis Cameron 1902 non Cameron 1886, Thalessa nigritarsis, Lytarmes sumtranus Enderlein 1919, Megarhyssa variegata Mocsary 1905, L. maculipennis variegates, Rhyssa varilineata Cameron 1907, L. maculipennis varilineatus, R. variilineata (l. c.)] IK05

Myllenyxis muelleri (Vollenhoven 1879) [=Rhyssa muelleri; incl. Epirhyssa nigerrima Morley 1913, Myllenyxis nigerrima] IK05

Sychnostigma flavopictum (Smith 1858) [=Macrogaster flavopictus, Ahyborhyssa flavopicta, Epirhyssa flavopicta; incl. E. curvimaculata Cameron 1907, Sychnostigma curvimaculatum] IK05

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[G84] Gauld, I. D. 1984. An Introduction to the Ichneumonidae of Australia. British Museum (Natural History).

[IK05] Idris, A. B., & L. Khairiza. 2005. A catalogue of Neoxoridini and Rhyssini (Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae) from Malaysia. Serangga 10 (1–2): 93–110.

[L58] Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentii Salvii: Holmiae.

[MS01] Mocsáry, A., & V. Szépligeti. 1901. Hymenopterák [Hymenopteren]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] pp. 121–169. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.

[N91] Naumann, I. D. 1991. Hymenoptera (wasps, bees, ants, sawflies). In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers 2^nd ed. vol. 2 pp. 916–1000. Melbourne University Press: Carlton (Victoria).

[R13] Reuter, O. M. 1913. Lebensgewohnheiten und Instinkte der Insekten bis zum Erwachen der sozialen Instinkte. R. Friedländer & Sohn: Berlin.

Last updated: 8 March 2021.