Ichneumoninae
Ichneumoninae is a worldwide subfamily of parasitic wasps in the family Ichneumonidae. They are endoparasitoids of Lepidoptera (caterpillars), meaning their offspring develop inside caterpillar hosts. They can be koinobionts (the host continues to develop while it is parasitized) or idiobionts (the host’s development is halted).
It is one of the largest subfamilies of Ichneumonidae, with hundreds of genera and thousands of described species. In 2021, a taxonomic review merged several tribes into Ichneumonini and added a couple of new ones, leaving seven tribes in Ichneumoninae, with Ichneumonini as the largest.
Common genera you might encounter include Amblyteles, Coelichneumon, Cratichneumon, Ichneumon, Limonethe, Trogus, and Vulgichneumon.
Classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Class: Insecta
- Order: Hymenoptera
- Family: Ichneumonidae
- Subfamily: Ichneumoninae
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 09:07 (CET).