Ctenopelmatinae Förster, 1869

Introduction
This section contains pages for the Ctenopelmatinae, a subfamily of Ichneumonidae with approximately 100 currently recognized genera. See also the Matrices and Keys part of the website for additional content on Ctenopelmatinae.

Nearly all ctenopelmatines are parasitoids of sawflies, and not surprisingly most of the records are from Tenthredinidae, the largest family of sawflies. Based on available records, there are also various genera that have specialized, respectively, on argids, cimbicids, pamphiliids, and pergids. A few of the ctenopelmatine genera are well-documented as parasitoids of immature Lepidoptera. Ctenopelmatines oviposit in eggs or various larval instars and emerge from host cocoons.

Most specialists recognize at least 6 tribes: Ctenopelmatini, Euryproctini, Mesoleiini, Perilissini, Pionini, and Scolobatini. We recognize Westwoodiini as a tribe separate from the Scolobatini, and the Seleucini is also recognized as a separate tribe and placed in the Ctenopelmatinae by some authors. Tribal classification is in need of revision, as the monophyly of most tribes is not well established.

Diagnosis and Relationships
The Ctenopelmatinae belong to the informal group Ophioniformes, regardless of how narrowly (Gauld 1985, Wahl 1991, 1993) or broadly (Belshaw and Quicke 2002, Quicke et al. 2005, 2009) the Ophioniformes are treated. In general appearance, members of the Ctenopelmatinae closely resemble some of the Tryphoninae. Some of the major features commonly used for recognizing these two subfamilies overlap slightly. For example, the apical tooth on the fore tibia, characteristic of nearly all ctenopelmatines, is found in a few tryphonines, and the apical fringe of setae on the clypeus, commonly associated with tryphonines, is present in a few ctenopelmatines. Tryphonines lack a subapical notch on the ovipositor, but so do many of the ctenopelmatines. Biological differences, most notably the stalked egg of tryphonines and some larval features, have contributed to the continued recognition of the two as separate subfamilies.

Sequence data have presented some interesting problems, with Metopiinae arising from within Ctenopelmatinae both in our unpublished work and in the 28S study by Quicke et al. (2009).

Distribution
No referenced distribution records have been added to the database for this OTU.
Map

There are no specimens currently determined for this OTU, or those specimens determined for this OTU are not yet mappable.

Acknowledgements
This page was assembled by Bob Wharton. It is based in part on the M.S. thesis of Mika Cameron (Texas A&M University, 2009) and the publication on egg loads by Cummins et al. (2011). This study was supported by the National Science Foundation’s PEET program under Grant No. DEB 0328922 and associated REU supplement no. DEB 0723663. Page last updated August, 2013.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number DEB 0328922 with REU supplement DEB 0723663.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.