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- Members in this family have long and thin body, long antenna and some with
very long ovipositor. They have narrow waist like
most other wasps. They are from small to medium in size.
-
 - One way to distinguish them from Ichneumon Wasps is that the Braconid Wasps
2nd recurrent vein of the fore wing is absent.
-
- Braconid Wasp larvae are parasitic as most caterpillars are targeted host. The female wasp usually locates the food plants of the host
then searches with her antennae for a a host. The female has the long ovipositor which is used to insert eggs into the host's body. The host will
usually survive when the larvae is still living inside. Until the larvae fully grown,
the wasp larvae either pupates inside the dead host or form a cocoon outside.
-
- The two families Braconidae and Ichneumonidae
are very close related and some species look similar. They can be distinguished
by the forewing venation. In the Ichneumons there is an extra vein creating
a cell which can not be found on Braconids.
-
- Many aphid parasites are Braconid and their life cycles are similar.
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Subfamily Braconinae
- Braconid wasp in this subfamily are often black, red, orange and white in
colours. Their wings are often dark or yellow-banded. They are from small to
medium size. Females have the extended ovipositor. Their larvae are mostly external parasitic on
moth caterpillars but several species are also known to parasitise concealed
beetle, fly
and sawfly larvae.
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- White Flank Black Braconid Wasp
 - Callibracon sp., body length 15mm
- We found this wasp once in Alexandra Hill on July 2007. The larvae of this
wasp is known to parasite on Longicorn
Beetle. Please also visit this page
for more pictures on this species.
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- White Flank Orange Braconid Wasp
 - ? Callibracon sp., body length 20mm
- We saw this wasp a few times in Karawatha Forest. The wasp has the orange
head and thorax, black abdomen with white patterns. Its wings are tinted in
black colour. Please visit this page.
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- White Flank Black Head Braconid Wasp
 - Callibracon sp., body length 15mm
- Confusing isn't it? This wasp looks the same as the wasps above except its
head is black in colour and with shorter ovipositor. It was also found in Karawatha
Forest on Nov 2007. This wasp seems like to rest
on stem as we always found them there. Please click on hear
for more information about this wasp.
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- Yellow Flank Braconid Wasp
 - Callibracon flaviceps (former Poecilobracon flaviceps), body length 20mm
- The wasp had the black body, with yellow flank and yellow-banded abdomen.
It wings were tinted with half orange and half dark brown, Its head was orange
in colour, with black antenna. All its legs were black. More pictures and
information can be found in this page.
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Subfamily Opiinae
- Wasps in this Subfamily Opiinae are small in size, often orange or yellow
in colours. Most of them are parasitic on larvae of fruit flies.
-
- Fruit fly Parasitoid 1
 - ? Opius sp., body length 4mm
- We found this Braconid Wasp on the fruits of Wild Tobacco (Solanum mauritianum).
Those Wild Tobacco plants are common weeds along creeks in Brisbane. Most of
the Wild Tobacco fruits were infected by a kind
of small fruit
flies. There were the wound on the fruits, if we open it we will
see the small fruit fly larvae. Sometimes we saw this small wasp, examining the infected fruits.
The wasp will insert her ovipositor into the wound. We believed she laid eggs
which the larvae will hatch and parasite on the fruit fly larvae. Please
also check this web page.
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- Fruit fly Parasitoid 2
  - ? Opius sp., body length 3mm
- We have a plum plant in our backyard. Some fruits were infected by a kind
of small fruit
flies Tephritidae. There were the wound on the fruits, if we open it we will
see the small fruit fly larvae. Sometimes we saw the small wasp, as the about
pictures, examining the infected fruits. After checking the wound on the fruit,
the wasp will insert her ovipositor into the wound. We believed she laid eggs
which the larvae will hatch and parasite on the fruit fly larvae.
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- Fruit fly Parasitoid 3
 - ? Opius sp., body length 3mm
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Subfamily Aphidinae (Aphidiinae)
- Wasps in this Subfamily are very small, about 1mm in body length. The
larvae are internal parasites of aphids, pupate inside the host.
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- Aphid Parasitic Wasp
 - Aphidius or Trioxys sp., body
length 2mm
- Aphid Parasitic Wasps
are the very small wasps. They can be found amongst the aphids colony, although
they may not been seen easily. The first picture shows a wasp laying egg into a aphid
body. The second picture shows the aphids colony, some of the aphids population are
dull brown in colour, which are parasitised by the wasp. More information and
pictures can be found in this page.
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Subfamily Helconinae
- Black Head Orange Braconid Wasp
  - ? sp., body length 15mm
- This wasp has a very long ovipositor. The wasp has a black head, long black antenna with white sections and
reddish-brown body. Larvae of this wasp is the internal parasites of beetle
larvae. Please
check this page for more
information.
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Subfamily Agathidinae (Agathidiinae)
- Braconid Wasps in this subfamily are from small to medium size. They are
usually orange in colour with black and orange wings. Larvae are internal
parasites of
moth caterpillars.
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- Band-winged Orange Braconid Wasp
 - Disophrys sp., body length 15mm
- This wasp is orange in colour with black head and black antenna. Its legs
are orange. Its wings are also tinted with orange with black bands. We recorded this wasp attached Tree
Lucerne Moth caterpillars. Details please check this page.
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-
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- Unknown
Braconid Wasp 1
 - ? sp., body length 10mm
- Pictures were taken on Nov 2007 in Yugarapul Park.
- 1. Insects
of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University
Press, 2nd Edition 1991, pp 949, plate 6 Z.
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-
- Unknown
Braconid Wasp 2
 - ? sp., body length 15mm
- Pictures taken on Nov 2007 in Karawatha Forest.
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- Unknown
Braconid Wasp 3
 - ? Apanteles sp, body length 10mm
- Reference:
- 1. Apanteles subandinus
- Australian Insect Common Names, CSIRO 2005.
-
-
- Reference:
- 1. Insects
of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University
Press, 2nd Edition 1991, p945.
- 2. Northern
Territory Insects, A Comprehensive Guide CD - Graham Brown, 2009,
- 3. Wasps - family Braconidae
- lifeunseen.com, by Nick Monaghan.
- 4. Family BRACONIDAE - Australian Faunal Directory, Australian Biological Resources Study.
- 5. What
wasp is that? - An interactive identification guide to the
Australasian families of Hymenoptera, 2007.
[ Up ] [ MEGALYRIDAE ] [ EVANIIDAE ] [ GASTERUPTIIDAE ] [ ICHNEUMONIDAE ] [ BRACONIDAE ] [ CHALCIDIDAE ] [ TORYMIDAE ] [ PTEROMALIDAE ] [ EUPELMIDAE ] [ CHRYSIDIDAE ] [ Other Parasitic Wasp ]
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