Olixon

Olixon
	Olixon spec.
Systematics
Class :	Insects (Insecta)
Order :	Hymenoptera (Hymenoptera)
Subordination :	Waist Wasps (Apocrita)
Superfamily :	Vespoidea
Family :	Rhopalosomatidae
Genre :	Olixon
Scientific name
	Olixon
	Cameron , 1887
species
	Olixon abrahami; Olixon atlanticus; Olixon australiae; Olixon banksii (Brues 1922); Olixon bicolor; Olixon danggari; Olixon dentatum; Olixon ferrugineum; Olixon flavibase; Olixon guyim; Olixon harveyi; Olixon helgae; Olixon jandakotae; Olixon jawoyn; Olixon jenningsi; Olixon cockatoo; Olixon majus; Olixon martini; Olixon melinsula; Olixon myrmosaeforme; Olixon pilbara; Olixon saltator; Olixon testaceum; Olixon toliaraense; Olixon wajuk; Olixon waldockae; Olixon wuthathi; Olixon zonal;

The more than 28 species of the genus Olixon worldwide belong to the insect order of the hymenoptera (Hymenoptera), within the family of the Rhopalosomatidae .

Little is known about the way of life of the Olixon species. It is known from O. australiae that their larvae develop in a "larval sac" on the body surface of a cricket species of the subfamily Trigoniidinae . For the North American species O. banksii there are two live observations of the adults and indications that the larvae parasitize on crickets of the genus Nemobius (relatives of the wood cricket ). The adult Olixon can apparently run very quickly and, according to one of the observations, are supposedly faster than tiger beetles (Cicindelidae), which are currently one of the fastest running insects. These observations could explain why thickened legs are found in many species (including the front and middle pairs of legs). In the female of an African species, the stridulation organ was examined, which apparently all Olixon species of both sexes have. It hardly differs in location, structure and fine structure from those of the ant wasps (Mutillidae) (see there). The species of the other genera of the family Rhopalosomatidae have not developed such an organ, although the Olixon species otherwise stand out due to a strong reduction in morphological features.

In a female of the genus examined by electron microscopy, special adhesive structures were found on all six feet. B. in leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae) are common, but rarely occur in waist wasps (Apocrita).

literature

Goulet H & Huber JT: Hymenoptera of the world: An identification guide to families. Center for Land and Biological Resources Research, Ottawa 1993. ISBN 0660149338
Lohrmann, V. & Ohl, M. 2007. The wasp genus Olixon Cameron in Madagascar: first record and description of two new species (Hymenoptera: Rhopalosomatidae). Zootaxa 1465: 39-46. [Abstract].
Krogmann, L., Austin, A., & Naumann, I. 2009. Systematics and biogeography of Australian rhopalosomatid wasps (Hymenoptera: Rhopalosomatidae) with a global synopsis of the enigmatic genus Olixon Cameron. Systematic Entomology 34 (2): 222-251. doi: 10.1111 / j.1365-3113.2008.00460.x Reference page.
Lohrmann, V., Fox, M. Solis, M. & Krogmann, L. 2012. Systematic revision of the New World Olixon Cameron with descriptions of O. melinsula sp. n. and the hitherto unknown female of O. bicolor (Hymenoptera, Rhopalosomatidae). German Entomological Journal 59 (2): 259–275. On-line. doi: 10.1002 / mmnd.201200022
Lohrmann, V., Falin, ZH Bennett, DJ & Engel, MS 2014. Recent findings of Olixon banksii in the Nearctic with notes on its biology (Hymenoptera: Rhopalosomatidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 87 (2): 258-260.