What is Ichneumon?
{{Taxobox | name = Ichneumonoidea | image = Megarhyssa greenei female.jpg | image_caption = ''[[Megarhyssa macrurus]]'' female | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Arthropod]]a | classis = [[Insect]]a | ordo = [[Hymenoptera]] | subordo = [[Apocrita]] | superfamilia = '''Ichneumonoidea''' | superfamilia_authority = [[Pierre André Latreille|Latreille]], 1802 | subdivision_ranks = Families | subdivision = *[[Braconidae]] *[[Ichneumonidae]] *†[[Praeichneumonidae]] }} The '''Ichneumonoidea''' are [[parasitoid wasps]]. They are a [[superfamily]] in the [[suborder]] [[Apocrita]]. The superfamily is made up of the '''ichneumon''' wasps, ([[family (biology)|family]] Ichneumonidae), and the [[braconid]]s (family Braconidae). The superfamily contains well over 80,000 different [[species]]. Members of the family Ichneumonidae are usually larger than members of the Braconidae, and the family has three times as many species as the braconids. The two families are distinguished mainly by details of wing venation. Almost all are solitary insects, and most are [[parasitoid]]s—the [[larva]]e feeding on or in another insect which finally dies. Being in the same order, ichneumonoids are closely related to other [[hymenoptera]] such as [[ant]]s and [[bee]]s.<ref>Piper, Ross 2007. Extraordinary animals: an encyclopedia of curious and unusual animals. Greenwood Press. {{ISBN|0-313-33922-8}}</ref> Many species in both families use [[polydnavirus]]es (with double strand [[DNA]]) to suppress the [[immune system]] of the host insect. Some species use many different insects as hosts, others are very specific in host choice. Various ichneumons are used successfully as [[Biological pest control|biological control agents]] in controlling pests such as [[Fly|flies]] or [[beetle]]s. Ichneumon wasp species are highly varied, ranging from {{convert|3|mm}} to {{convert|130|mm|abbr=on}} long. Most are slender, with the females of many species (particularly in the genus ''[[Megarhyssa]]'') having an extremely long [[ovipositor]] for laying eggs.