Welcome
Ichneumonids are a fascinating group of parasitoid
wasps, with over 25,000
described species of an estimated total of 100,000.
In North America (north of Mexico), more than 5,000 species
have been described, with likely several thousand more awaiting
discovery. Like many hyperdiverse groups,
identification resources and other information about ichneumonids
are severely lacking relative to their diversity which hinders
further research. Beyond the many undescribed species, our knowledge of
their distributions, biology, behavior, ecology, and phenology
remains limited for nearly all ichneumonid taxa. It is therefore
crucial to accelerate research to better understand one of Earth's
most diverse family of organisms.
Ichneumonids of North America (IoNA) is an online resource dedicated to
synthesizing, organizing, and sharing knowledge about ichneumonid
biodiversity across North America. this ongoing project aims to
foster greater interest in ichneumonids among researchers and the general
public by providing accurate identification tools and access to
taxonomic information.
The website follows the principles of
an "e-monograph" or "e-flora/fauna" striving to be a comprehensive,
up-to-date, one-stop repository that leverages the interactiveity
and customization features of modern web technology. Due to time and
resource constraints, however, the project is currently
limited to the subfamily Ichneumoninae
and is far from its envisioned goal.
IoNA was created in 2022 and is edited and maintained by Brandon Claridge, PhD.
Mark Hiner (associated with the University of Minnesota Insect Collection) is also a major
contributor. Please reach out if you are interested in ichneumonid research or contributing to
IoNA.
Guide
Visit the guide page to get started.
There you will find subfamily identification
resources and links to individual subfamily pages.
Ideally, each subfamily page will contain a filterable gallery; basic information
about the subfamily's biology, taxonomy, and distribution; a morphology guide;
keys to genera and tribes (if applicable); links to generic pages; and major references.
The subfamily Ichneumoninae page is the most developed at this time
and features 300+ specimens,
mostly comprising described species but also many undescribed species and even
a few putative new genera. The gallery
can be filtered by
chromatic and morphological characters, host use, distribution,
taxonomy, and sex. All Nearctic genera are represented in the gallery, but only a minority of the species.
Additional information, including a tribal key and
generic keys to Ichneumonini and Phaeogenini (still in development),
can be accessed via the tabs at the top of the page. Links to
generic pages are found on the sidebar.
For subfamily identification, please use the
subfamily classifier, which will identify a specimen based on an image
of the frontal view of the head.
