Ceraphronidae
| Ceraphronidae | |
|---|---|
| Ceraphronidae. Lateral view. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Superfamily: | Ceraphronoidea |
| Family: | Ceraphronidae Haliday, 1833 |
The Ceraphronidae, commonly known as ceraphronids or ceraphronid wasps, are a small hymenopteran family with 14 genera and some 360 known species, though a great many species are still undescribed. It is a poorly known group as a whole, though most are believed to be parasitoids (especially of flies), and a few hyperparasitoids. Many are found in the soil, and of these, a number are wingless.
The family is distinguished from the closely related Megaspilidae by having a very small stigma in the wing, a very broad metasomal petiole, and a single median groove in the mesoscutum.
The taxon was erected by Alexander Henry Haliday in 1833.