WaspsWasps Index Australian Large Wasps Australian Mud Nest Wasps Mud Wasp Velvet Ants Abispa ephippium Acarozumia amaliae Aulacidae Australodynerus Bembix Bembicinae Bethylidae Blue Hairy Flower Wasp Braconidae Chrysididae Cryptocheilus bicolor (Orange Spider Wasp) Delta latreillei (Potter Wasp) Eumeninae Delta philantes Ferreola handschini (Orange-collared Spider Wasp) Flower Wasps Gasteruptiid Wasp Hairy Flower Wasps Isodontia (Grass-carrying Wasp) Lissopimpla excelsa (Orchid Dupe Wasp) Mutillidae Paralastor sp. Pseudabispa bicolor ssp. nigrocinctoides Radumeris radula (Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp) Radumeris tasmaniensis (Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp) Sceliphron laetum Thynnid Wasps Tiphiidae Torymus Yellow and Black Wasp

A recognisable families of parasitic wasps, there are more than 180 species of gasteruptiid wasps in Australia of which there are about 115 species in the subfamily Gasteruptiinae (Gasteruption spp.) and more than 70 species in the subfamily Hyptiogastrinae (two genera).

Gasteruptiid Wasp (family Gasteruptiidae), Ballandean QLD © Marc Newman
Gasteruptiid Wasp (family Gasteruptiidae), Glen Aplin QLD © Marc Newman

The Gasteruptiidae are one of the more distinctive families among the apocritan wasps, with surprisingly little variation in appearance for a group that contains around 500 species in two subfamilies (Gasteruptiinae and Hyptiogastrinae) and with 6 genera worldwide. They are members of Evanioidea.

Source: Gasteruptiidae, Wikipedia2
Gasteruptiid Wasp (family Gasteruptiidae), Ballandean QLD © Marc Newman
Gasteruptiid Wasp (family Gasteruptiidae), Glen Aplin QLD © Marc Newman

The Gasteruptiidae are one of the more distinctive families among the apocritan wasps, with surprisingly little variation in appearance for a group that contains around 500 species in two subfamilies (Gasteruptiinae and Hyptiogastrinae) and with 6 genera worldwide. They are members of Evanioidea.

Gasteruptiid Wasp (family Gasteruptiidae), Ballandean QLD © Marc Newman
Gasteruptiid Wasp (family Gasteruptiidae), Glen Aplin QLD © Marc Newman

Of the two gasteruptiid subfamilies (Gasteruptiinae and Hyptiogastrinae), Hyptiogastrinae, has a restricted Gondwanan distribution. The genus Hyptiogaster include 10 species that are endemic to Australia, and in the genus Pseudofoenus, most of the 80 species are also found in Australia.

The eggs of the family Gasteruptiidae are deposited in the nests of solitary bees and wasps. Some larvae of gasteruptiids are predators (they eat the host) or are predator-inquilines (feed on the host and the host’s food storage, also known as kleptoparasites) in the nests of solitary bees and wasps.

Gasteruptiid Wasp (family Gasteruptiidae), Ballandean QLD © Marc Newman
Gasteruptiid Wasp (family Gasteruptiidae), Ballandean QLD © Marc Newman

  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Subphylum: Hexapoda
  • Class: Insecta
  • Informal: Pterygotes
  • Order: Hymenoptera
  • Superfamily: Evanioidea
  • Family: Gasteruptiidae
  • Subfamily:
    • Gasteruptiinae Ashmead, 1900
    • Hyptiogastrinae Crosskey, 1953

Footnote & References

  1. Photographs Gasteruptiid Wasp © Marc Newman, Flickr, https://flickr.com/photos/koolbee/albums
  2. Gasteruptiidae, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasteruptiidae
  3. Gasteruptiidae, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/75479229-d3be-4c31-9262-7357317a340c
  4. Gasteruptiid Wasps Family Gasteruptiidae, iNaturalistAU, https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/244996-Gasteruptiidae
  5. Gasteruptiid Wasp – Gasteruption sp., Brisbane Insects and Spiders, https://www.brisbaneinsects.com/pchew_brisbane/index.html
  6. Gasteruptiidae, What wasp is that?, An interactive guide to the Australasian families of Hymenoptera, https://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/what_wasp_is_that/key/What%20wasp%20is%20that/Media/Html/Hymenoptera%20key/GasteruptiidFrameset01.htm

WaspsWasps Index Australian Large Wasps Australian Mud Nest Wasps Mud Wasp Velvet Ants Abispa ephippium Acarozumia amaliae Aulacidae Australodynerus Bembix Bembicinae Bethylidae Blue Hairy Flower Wasp Braconidae Chrysididae Cryptocheilus bicolor (Orange Spider Wasp) Delta latreillei (Potter Wasp) Eumeninae Delta philantes Ferreola handschini (Orange-collared Spider Wasp) Flower Wasps Gasteruptiid Wasp Hairy Flower Wasps Isodontia (Grass-carrying Wasp) Lissopimpla excelsa (Orchid Dupe Wasp) Mutillidae Paralastor sp. Pseudabispa bicolor ssp. nigrocinctoides Radumeris radula (Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp) Radumeris tasmaniensis (Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp) Sceliphron laetum Thynnid Wasps Tiphiidae Torymus Yellow and Black Wasp

InsectsBees Beetles Blattodea Butterflies Coleoptera Cicada Crabronidae Diptera Dragonflies & Damselflies Formicidae Hemiptera Heteroptera Moths Orthoptera Orthopteroid Processionary Caterpillar Stink Bugs, Shield Bugs and Allies Wasps Water Scorpion (Laccotrephes tristis) Witchetty Grub