Overview
Most species are
parasitoids of gall-inducing insects, including other chalcidoids, cynipids a
nd Diptera (flies). In the tropics, some species are known to attack insects within galls on figs.
Description
Ormyrids are characterised by the metasoma strongly sclerotised; tergites with coarse punctures or sculpturing; the hind tibia with two stout apical spurs, at least one of which is curved; the hind coxa about twice as long as the fore coxa and almost as long as hind femur; and the head with a horseshoe-shaped occipital carina.
Distribution
Ormyridae are a small family that are not commonly collected. They are absent from New Zealand and represented in Australia by 11 described species in a single genus,
Ormyrus,
which is treated by Boucek (1988).
Further information about the Ormyridae can be found in Boucek 1988, Gibson 1993, Naumann 1991 and Noyes 2001.