Genus of wasps
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Cystomastacoides is a genus of parasitoid wasps belonging to the family Braconidae. It was named by Dutch entomologist Kees van Achterberg in 1997 from a single species "Cystomastacoides coxalis" discovered in Yunnan, China. There are only four species described in the genus, the other three having been reported on 19 March 2013. As typical ichneumon wasps, they are characterised by a deadly parasitoid behaviour. Their larvae grow inside the body of other insects, such as caterpillars, and feed on their internal organs inside the body until they emerge.
Species.
There are currently four species recognised under "Cystomastacoides":
Description.
"Cystomastacoides" are small wasps and typically yellow in colour. The body length ranges from 9–13 mm. They have two pairs of wings. The pair of forewings are much larger and measure 8–14 mm in length. The wing membrane is almost entirely transparent (hyaline) and pale. Wing venation is mostly brown-yellow. The antennae are exceptionally long compared to the rest of the body, measuring up to 14 mm. A pair of compound eyes on the head are conspicuously coloured blue or dark-blue. The abdominal part (tergum) is divided into six tergites. They belong to the "Colastomion" Baker, 1917, group of genera which additionally includes the tropical Old World genera "Macrostomion" Szépligeti, 1900, "Megarhogas" Szépligeti, 1904, and "Myocron" van Achterberg, 1991 (van Achterberg 1991). This group is distinctive in having the combination of abdominal segment (tergite) strongly narrowed subbasally and having the hind tibial spurs strongly curved and largely glabrous. They have a well-developed tooth on the hind coxa and claws with pointed basal lobes.
Behaviour.
"Cystomastacoides" are typical ichneumon wasps which are infamous for their fatal reproductive habits. They are obligate parasitoids and deposit their eggs in other insects. The females have long syringe-like ovipositors, which they use to inject their eggs into the host body. Once inside the body of the host, the eggs develop into larvae. The larvae then start to consume the internal organs of the host and ultimately kill the host.
References.
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