The Anaxyelidae is a wood wasp family within the Symphyta, containing only a single living species, Syntexis libocedrii, (also called the cedar wood wasp or incense-cedar wood wasp), though the family has an extensive Mesozoic fossil record; this species is thus a "living fossil". It has the remarkable behavior of ovipositing only in recently burnt incense-cedar (Calocedrus), redcedar (Thuja) or juniper (Juniperus); the wood is often still smoldering when the wasp is laying its eggs, and the larvae develop in the wood.[1] It occurs from the mountains of central California to southern British Columbia, but is very rarely seen, except by firefighters.
References
- ^ Schiff, N.M. (December 2000). "Insects associated with forest fires in Northern California and Oregon". Entomological Society of America meeting. Retrieved on 2007-05-07.
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