chrysid (krisid)

One of the Chrysididæ. Chrysididæ (kri-sid'i-dē), n. pl. [NL., Ruby-tailed Fly ( Chrysis nitidula). (Cro shows natural size.) nopterous insects, having the posterior abdominal segments retractile and the under side of the abdomen concave, and provided with a tubular membranous ovipositor of a single piece. They are richly colored insects, very active in the hottest sunshine, and capable of rolling themselves up into a ball. They are solitary and parasitic, depositing their eggs in the nests of other Hymenoptera, especially of the fo orial wasps. There are several genera and many species.