Ant-shaped wasp - beethylid wasp

Japanese: アリガタバチ(蟻形蜂) - アリガタバチ（英語表記）bethylid wasp

A general term for external parasitic wasps belonging to the Bethylidae family of the Hymenoptera order. They are a few mm long and slender, generally with a bronze sheen, and most females are wingless, but sometimes both sexes are wingless. Because of their small size, taxonomic and ecological research has been delayed. They are distributed almost worldwide, especially in the tropics and subtropics. They prey on small beetle larvae and moth larvae hiding in rolled leaves and scribbled leaves. They do not build nests themselves. The Japanese brown-legged wasp Laelius microneurus parasitizes the larvae of the scutellaria beetle, which is a pest of wool textiles and insect specimens.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

膜翅目アリガタバチ科Bethylidaeに属する外部捕食寄生性のハチの総称。体長数mm，体は細長く一般に青銅光沢があり，雌に無翅のものが多いが両性ともに無翅のこともある。小型のため分類学的･生態学的研究は遅れている。ほぼ全世界に分布し，とくに熱帯と亜熱帯に多い。小型の甲虫の幼虫，巻葉やつづり葉の中に潜むガの幼虫をとる。みずから巣をつくることはない。日本にすむキアシアリガタバチLaelius microneurusは，毛織物や昆虫標本の害虫であるヒメマルカツオブシムシの幼虫に寄生する。

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