Aleiodes

Aleiodes (Greek ἀ "not", λείος "smooth", εἵδος "appearance") is a genus of the family Braconidae of parasitoid wasps described by Constantin Wesmael in 1838. They are also known as mummy-wasps. The female attacks caterpillars of various species, including many pests such as Gypsy moths and tent caterpillars, and then deposits eggs in the caterpillars. The eggs hatch and the wasp larva feeds on the caterpillar, leaving a hardened caterpillar skin, or mummy. The wasp pupates within the mummy and eventually the adult breaks out, leaving a small hole in the husk of the caterpillar.

For the genus of butterfly, see Aloeides.

Aleiodes
Aleiodes shakirae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Braconidae
Subfamily:	Rogadinae
Tribe:	Aleidini
Genus:	Aleiodes

There are thousands of species, including:

• Aleiodes cacuangoi named after Dolores Cacuango
• Aleiodes colberti named after Stephen Colbert
• Aleiodes coxalis
• Aleiodes dangerlingi named after Dan Gerling
• Aleiodes elleni named after Ellen DeGeneres
• Aleiodes falloni named after Jimmy Fallon
• Aleiodes frosti named after Robert Frost (American poet)
• Aleiodes gaga named after Lady Gaga
• Aleiodes heterogaster type species of genus
• Aleiodes kingmani named after Eduardo Kingman
• Aleiodes shakirae named after Shakira (Colombian singer)
• Aleiodes stewarti named after Jon Stewart (American comedian)
• Aleiodes tashimai

References

• Wesmael, Constantin (1838). "Monographie de Braconides de Belgigue". Nouvelles Memoires de l'Academie Royale de Bruxelles. 11: 1–167.
• "Shakira, Robert Frost, Ellen, and other famous people get wasps named after them".
• "Genus Aleiodes - Mummy-wasps". BugGuide.
• Shimbori, Eduardo Mitio; Shaw, Scott Richard (2014). "Twenty-four new species of Aleiodes Wesmael from the eastern Andes of Ecuador with associated biological information (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Rogadinae)". ZooKeys (405): 1–81. doi:10.3897/zookeys.405.7402. PMC 4023268. PMID 24843275.
• Fortier, Joseph C. (2009). "A Revision of the Tetrasphaeropyx Ashmead Lineage of the Genus Aleiodes Wesmael (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Rogadinae)" (PDF). Zootaxa. Magnolia Press. 2256: 1–126. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2256.1.1. ISBN 978-1-86977-417-2.