Tiphiidae

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Tiphiidae (suborder Apocrita, super-family Scoliidea) Family of often shining black, brownish, or black and yellow wasps in which the adults are 10–25 mm long, and have two posterior lobes on the mesosternum, or have rather strongly constricted petioles. Some subfamilies contain species with wingless females, a character associated with a fossorial habit. All are parasites of the larvae of Coleoptera and Hymenoptera, some specializing on tiger beetles (see CARABIDAE). Both sexes feed on nectar and honeydew, and some are nocturnal. More than one egg per host may be laid. The family is fairly common and widely distributed.