Chalcidoidea continued
Most chalcid wasps are parasitoids; they feed on other insects, attacking the egg, larval or pupal stage of their host, eventually killing them. They live and feed either internally or externally. Some are parasitoids of other parasitoids and some may even feed on their own species.
If almost every insect species (approx. 5-10 million species) has 3-4 parasitoids, then how many parasitoids might there be?
Because they kill other insects, these wasps are extremely important for the control of pests of agricultural and forest crops, as well as vectors of human disease and veterinary pests.