Aulacidae Shuckard, 1841

Ghahari, Hassan & Madl, Michael, 2017, An annotated catalogue of Iranian Aulacidae, Evaniidae and Gasteruptiidae (Hymenoptera: Evanioidea), Zootaxa 4338 (2), pp. 341-353 : 342

Family Aulacidae Shuckard, 1841

The world species of the family Aulacidae have been catalogued by Smith (2001) and an updated checklist is provided by Turrisi et al. (2009). The family comprises two genera, Aulacus Jurine, 1807 and Pristaulacus Kieffer, 1900 , and both are recorded from the Palaearctic region, of which only the latter is known from Iran. The Palaearctic species of Pristaulacus have been revised and keyed by Turrisi (2007) and species notes have been made by Turrisi & Pilato (2008) and Turrisi (2011, 2013). In Aulacidae the hind legs are not swollen and the thorax is more sculptured than in Gasteruptiidae . In Aulacidae and Gasteruptiidae the abdomen is elongated and tergites 1 and 2 are fused. Aulacids are parasitoids of wood-boring wasps ( Siricidae , Xiphydriidae ) and especially Coleoptera (mostly Cerambycidae and Buprestidae ) ( Jennings & Austin 2004; Turrisi 2013). Host records are summarized in Turrisi (2007) and updated in Turrisi (2011, 2013).