Which family is commonly known as horntails?

Study for the Science Olympiad Entomology Exam. Dive into entomology with flashcards and multiple-choice questions. Each question comes with hints and explanations to help you ace your exam!

Multiple Choice

Which family is commonly known as horntails?

Explanation:
Horntails are a group of wood-boring wasp-like insects in the family Siricidae. The name comes from the horn-like projection at the tip of the abdomen in females, which is an ovipositor used to drill into wood to lay eggs. The larvae then tunnel through dead or dying wood, especially conifers. Among the options, the other families are not horntails: Mutillidae are velvet ants; Cynipidae are gall wasps that induce plant galls; Noctuidae are nocturnal moths. Thus the family commonly known as horntails is Siricidae.

Horntails are a group of wood-boring wasp-like insects in the family Siricidae. The name comes from the horn-like projection at the tip of the abdomen in females, which is an ovipositor used to drill into wood to lay eggs. The larvae then tunnel through dead or dying wood, especially conifers. Among the options, the other families are not horntails: Mutillidae are velvet ants; Cynipidae are gall wasps that induce plant galls; Noctuidae are nocturnal moths. Thus the family commonly known as horntails is Siricidae.

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