Department of Entomology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA; email:
Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia; email:
Annu Rev Entomol. 2018 Jan 7;63:389-406. doi: 10.1146/annurev-ento-020117-043405. Epub 2017 Oct 20.
The braconid parasitoid wasp subfamily Microgastrinae is perhaps the most species-rich subfamily of animals on Earth. Despite their small size, they are familiar to agriculturalists and field ecologists alike as one of the principal groups of natural enemies of caterpillars feeding on plants. Their abundance and nearly ubiquitous terrestrial distribution, their intricate interactions with host insects, and their historical association with mutualistic polydnaviruses have all contributed to Microgastrinae becoming a key group of organisms for studying parasitism, parasitoid genomics, and mating biology. However, these rich sources of data have not yet led to a robust genus-level classification of the group, and some taxonomic confusion persists as a result. We present the current status of understanding of the general biology, taxonomic history, diversity, geographical patterns, host relationships, and phylogeny of Microgastrinae as a stimulus and foundation for further study. Current progress in elucidating the biology and taxonomy of this important group is rapid and promises a revolution in the classification of these wasps in the near future.
柄腹小蜂亚科（Braconid parasitoid wasp subfamily Microgastrinae）可能是地球上物种最丰富的动物亚科之一。尽管它们体型小巧，但作为以植物为食的毛毛虫的主要天敌之一，农业家和野外生态学家都对它们非常熟悉。它们的丰富度和几乎无处不在的陆地分布、与宿主昆虫的复杂相互作用以及与共生多瘤病毒的历史关联，使柄腹小蜂成为研究寄生、寄生蜂基因组学和交配生物学的关键生物群体。然而，这些丰富的数据来源尚未导致该群体建立稳健的属级分类，因此仍然存在一些分类上的混淆。我们介绍了柄腹小蜂的一般生物学、分类历史、多样性、地理模式、宿主关系和系统发育的当前理解状况，以此作为进一步研究的刺激和基础。目前，阐明这个重要群体的生物学和分类学的进展迅速，有望在不久的将来彻底改变对这些小蜂的分类。
