Sirex | |
---|---|
Sirex noctilio | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hymenoptera |
Family: | Siricidae |
Genus: | Sirex Linnaeus, 1760 |
Species | |
see text |
Sirex is a genus of wasps in the family Siricidae, the horntails or wood wasps. They inject eggs with fungal endosymbionts into wood. The fungus is contained in a mycangium which nourishes it with secretions, and in turn it digests wood for the wasp larva.
The genus includes economically important pests; S. noctilio, known simply as the 'Sirex woodwasp' is an invasive species, having spread widely across the world from its original range.[1][2]