Commonly known as cuckoo wasps or emerald wasps, the family Chrysididae is a very large cosmopolitan group (over 3000 described species) of parasitoid or kleptoparasite wasps, often highly sculptured,[ with brilliant metallic colors created by structural coloration.][
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Nomenclature
The term "cuckoo wasp" refers to the cuckoo-like way in which wasps in the family lay eggs in the nests of unrelated host species.
Chrysididae, the scientific name of the family, refers to their shiny bodies and is derived from ancient Greek chrysis, chrysid-, "gold vessel, gold-embroidered dress", plus the familial suffix -idae. The common names of many species pay similar tribute to their appearance: jewel wasp, gold wasp, emerald wasp, ruby wasp and so on (cf. French language guêpe de feu, "fire-wasp", and German language / Dutch language Goldwespe / goudwesp, "gold-wasp").
Ecology and behavior
Members of the largest subfamily, Chrysidinae, are the most familiar; they are generally kleptoparasites, laying their eggs in host nests, where their larvae consume the host egg or larva while it is still young, then the food provided by the host for its own juvenile. Chrysidines are distinguished from the members of other subfamilies in that most have flattened or concave lower and can curl into a defensive ball ("volvation") when attacked by a potential host, in the manner of a pill bug.[ Members of the other subfamilies are of either Tenthredinoidea or Phasmatodea and cannot fold up into a ball.
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Chrysidids are always solitary. They fly mainly in the hottest and driest months of summer in subtropical and Mediterranean climates. They favor dry areas and sandy soils; many species are confined to a narrow type of microhabitat where adults may rest or find hosts to parasitize, for example on bare soil or on dead wood where other solitary wasps have their nest holes. Some species visit flowers such as of the Apiaceae, Asteraceae and Euphorbiaceae.[ Chrysidid wasps are not only known for their parasitic behavior but also for their exceptional resilience to drought conditions, often remaining dormant for extended periods until suitable hosts become available. Some species have also developed specialized body structures, such as reinforced cuticles, to withstand the attacks of their often-aggressive host species.
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Evolution
The fossil record of the group is fragmentary, the oldest fossil known being from the lower Aptian Turga Formation of Russia.[A. P. Rasnitsyn. 1990. Pozdne-Mezozoyskie Nasekomye Vostochnogo Zabaykal'ya. Akademiya Nauk SSSR, Trudy Paleontologicheskogo Instituta 239:177-205] Other Cretaceous specimens are known from the Albian-Cenomanian amber of France,[H. E. Evans. 1973. Cretaceous aculeate wasps from Taimyr, Siberia (Hymenoptera). Psyche 80:166-178] and the upper Campanian Canadian amber.[H. E. Evans. 1969. Three new Cretaceous aculeate wasps (Hymenoptera). Psyche 76:251-261]
Morgan, R. C., & Wilson, J. S. (2019). "Structural Adaptations in Cuckoo Wasps: Defensive Morphology and Host Resistance." Journal of Hymenoptera Research, 72, 115–130.
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