Ichneumon is a genus of parasitoid wasps in the family Ichneumonidae.
Selected species
This genus includes about 270 species:
- Ichneumon annulatorius <small>Fabricius, 1775</small>
- Ichneumon eumerus <small>Wesmael, 1857</small>
- Ichneumon extensorius <small>Linnaeus, 1758</small>
- Ichneumon insidiosus <small>Wesmael, 1844</small>
- Ichneumon nyassae <small>Heinrich, 1967</small>
- Ichneumon rubriornatus <small>Cameron, 1904</small>
- Ichneumon sarcitorius <small>Linnaeus, 1758</small>
- Ichneumon tottor <small>Thunberg, 1822</small>
- Ichneumon unicinctus <small>Brullé, 1846</small>
- Ichneumon centrator <small>Say, 1825</small>
Cultural significance
In the eighteenth century Ichneumon was regarded as an instance of the God-given balance in nature; in the nineteenth the possibility of using it as a form of biocontrol was briefly entertained. It was used as the symbol of the reformed Entomological Society of London in 1833.
References