The superfamily Siricoidea is an archaic group of the order Hymenoptera

Hymenoptera

Hymenoptera is one of the largest orders of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees and ants. There are over 130,000 recognized species, with many more remaining to be described. The name refers to the heavy wings of the insects, and is derived from the Ancient Greek ὑμήν : membrane and...

, consisting of three families (one extinct) of xylophagous sawflies. The group is well-represented in early Tertiary

Tertiary

The Tertiary is a deprecated term for a geologic period 65 million to 2.6 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and the Quaternary...

 and Mesozoic

Mesozoic

The Mesozoic era is an interval of geological time from about 250 million years ago to about 65 million years ago. It is often referred to as the age of reptiles because reptiles, namely dinosaurs, were the dominant terrestrial and marine vertebrates of the time...

 times, but a number of living taxa remain, including the family Anaxyelidae, which has recently been linked to this group (it was previously placed in the Xyeloidea

Xyeloidea

The Xyeloidea are a small superfamily within the Symphyta, containing fewer than 200 extant species, but with an extensive fossil record. They are sometimes believed to be the oldest group within the Hymenoptera. Most species occur in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in boreal regions....

). The female ovipositor

Ovipositor

The ovipositor is an organ used by some animals for oviposition, i.e., the laying of eggs. It consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages formed to transmit the egg, to prepare a place for it, and to place it properly...

is typically long and projects posteriorly, and is used to drill into wood.