Sclerogibbidae
This is a female Sclerogibbidae, a very small and rarely collected family related to the comparatively species-rich Chrysididae (jewel wasps) and placed in the same superfamily as the latter (Chrysidoidea). The Afrotropical region has but three genera encompassing 15 species. Knowledge of the Kenyan fauna has increased greatly since icipe’s insect survey and inventory project began. To date, published records of Kenyan Sclerogibbidae total 12 species from the same three genera; Caenosclerogibba (1), Probethylus (1), and Sclerogibba (10). Adults search beneath rocks where they attack Embioptera (webspinners) exclusively. Females oviposit on the webspinner nymphs and the larval sclerogibbids feed as ectoparasitoids. Larvae pupate within the web of their host. Extant Sclerogibbid species display extreme sexual dimorphism with the females being wingless and the males fully winged. However, the females of extinct fossilized species had wings.
