Elasmus
Encyclopedia
The genus Elasmus is the only member of the subfamily Elasminae (formerly classified as a separate family, Elasmidae), and contains over 200 species worldwide. They are mostly parasitoid
s or hyperparasitoids of lepidoptera
n larvae, though several species are parasitoids of Polistes
paper wasp larvae.
Parasitoid
A parasitoid is an organism that spends a significant portion of its life history attached to or within a single host organism in a relationship that is in essence parasitic; unlike a true parasite, however, it ultimately sterilises or kills, and sometimes consumes, the host...
s or hyperparasitoids of lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
n larvae, though several species are parasitoids of Polistes
Polistes
Wasps of the cosmopolitan genus Polistes are the most familiar of the polistine wasps, and are the most common type of paper wasp. It is also the single largest genus within the family Vespidae, with over 300 recognized species and subspecies...
paper wasp larvae.