Pelecinellidae is a small family of chalcidoid wasps, formerly treated as the subfamily Leptofoeninae within Pteromalidae. They, like many small chalcidoids, are brilliantly metallic.
The subfamily contains three genera, Nefoenus, Doddifoenus (with four species[2]) and Leptofoenus (with five extant species).[3] The species Doddifoenus wallacei is the largest known chalcidoid wasp, reaching nearly 5 cm (2.0 in) in length (including ovipositor).[4]
The first pelecinellid species known from the fossil record, Leptofoenus pittfieldae, was described in 2009 by Michael S. Engel from a specimen discovered in Dominican amber.[5]
^Ashmead, W.H. (1895) On the genus Pelecinella, Westwood, and its position among the
Chalcididae. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 3: 230–233. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/19642#page/272/mode/1up
^Gupta, A., Gowda, H.K.H.M. & Sankararaman, H. First report of the genus with first host record and description of an enchanting new species of Doddifoenus Bouček (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae: Leptofoeninae) from India. Biologia 77, 2581–2592 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11756-022-01133-4
^Roger A. Burks; Mircea-Dan Mitroiu; Lucian Fusu; et al. (20 December 2022). "From hell's heart I stab at thee! A determined approach towards a monophyletic Pteromalidae and reclassification of Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera)". Journal of Hymenoptera Research. 94: 13–88. doi:10.3897/JHR.94.94263. ISSN 1070-9428. Wikidata Q115923766.
^Krogmann, L., Burks, R.A. (2009) Doddifoenus wallacei, a new giant parasitoid wasp of the subfamily Leptofoeninae (Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae), with a description of its mesosomal skeletal anatomy and a molecular characterization. Zootaxa 2194: 21-36.
^Engel, M.S. (2005). "The first fossil leptofoenine wasp (Hymenoptera, Pteromalidae): A new species of Leptofoenus in Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic". ZooKeys (13): 57–66. doi:10.3897/zookeys.13.159. hdl:1808/5595.
Pelecinellidae is a small family of chalcidoid wasps, formerly treated as the subfamily Leptofoeninae within Pteromalidae. They, like many small chalcidoids...
Boucek, 1958 (formerly part of Pteromalidae) Ormyridae Förster, 1856 Pelecinellidae Ashmead, 1895 (formerly part of Pteromalidae) Perilampidae Latreille...
but these wasps look very different from their closest relatives, the Pelecinellidae. This, along with the long time since the divergence, supports the treatment...
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