Ripiphoridae
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194891971
2008-02-29T13:59:39Z
Eubot
231599
Removed taxobox colour. See [[User:Eubot/Removing colours from taxoboxen]].
{{Taxobox
| name = Wedge-shaped beetles
| image = Rhipiphorus_diadasiae_male.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = ''[[Ripiphorus diadasiae]]'' male
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Arthropod]]a
| classis = [[Insect]]a
| ordo = [[beetle|Coleoptera]]
| subordo = [[Polyphaga]]
| infraordo = [[Cucujiformia]]
| superfamilia = [[Tenebrionoidea]]
| familia = '''Ripiphoridae'''
| familia_authority = Gemminger & Harold, 1870
| subdivision_ranks = Subfamilies
| subdivision =
[[Hemirhipidiinae]]<br>
[[Micholaeminae]]<br>
[[Pelecotominae]]<br>
[[Ptilophorinae]]<br>
[[Ripidiinae]]<br>
[[Ripiphorinae]]<br>
}}
{{wikispecies|Ripiphoridae}}
The family '''Ripiphoridae''' (formerly spelled '''Rhipiphoridae''') is a cosmopolitan group of [[beetle]]s commonly known as '''wedge-shaped beetles''' containing some 450 species. They are one of the most unusual beetle families, in that they are [[parasitoids]]; different groups within the family attack different hosts, but most are associated with [[bee]]s or [[Vespidae|vespid wasps]], while some others are associated with [[roach]]es. They often have abbreviated [[elytra]], and branched [[antenna (biology)|antennae]].
For those which attack bees, eggs are typically laid on flowers, where they hatch almost immediately into small [[planidium]] larvae, which wait for a passing host. They grab onto a bee when it visits the flower, and ride it back to its nest, where they disembark and enter a cell with a host larva. The beetle larva then enters the body of the host larva, where it waits while the larva grows. When the host pupates, the beetle larva migrates to the outside of its body and begins to feed, eventually consuming it.
{{beetle-stub}}
[[Category:Beetles]]
[[no:Snyltebiller]]