Larra (wasp)

Larra, also known as mole cricket wasps or mole cricket hunters, is a genus of wasps that prey on various species of mole crickets. They have gained prominence as integrated pest management agents.

Distribution
Members of this genus are found worldwide, particularly in the tropics.

Life cycle
Larra wasps feed on nectar as adults. Female wasps hunt adult or late-instar mole crickets and lay their eggs upon them, first temporarily paralyzing them by stinging them on the underside. The larva, upon hatching, gradually consumes the host, eventually killing it. It then pupates in or near the remains. The adults are solitary and do not form colonies. Incubation and development are highly variable in length and dependent upon temperature; in winter, the larvae may enter diapause. Each Larra species preferentially hunts a particular set of prey species, even when related prey is available.

The temporary paralysis of the host is a distinctive feature of the genus out of its close allies. Other related wasps generally paralyze the host permanently and bury it so that the larva can consume it undisturbed.

Human importance
Larra polita, which is endemic to the Philippines, was successfully introduced to Hawaii in 1925 to help control Gryllotalpa orientalis, the oriental mole cricket.

A related species, L. bicolor, was introduced to Puerto Rico in 1928 to control the accidentally introduced Neoscapteriscus didactylus, the Changa mole cricket. Subsequent efforts were made to introduce L. bicolor to Florida for the same reason, and a population was established by 1993.

Species
There are 64 described species of Larra.


 * Larra abdominalis  Guérin-Méneville in Lefebvre, 1849
 * Larra alecto  (F. Smith, 1858)
 * Larra altamazonica  F. Williams, 1928
 * Larra amplipennis  (F. Smith, 1873)
 * Larra analis  Fabricius, 1804
 * Larra anathema  (Rossi, 1790)
 * Larra angustifrons  Kohl, 1892
 * Larra apicipennis  Cameron, 1904
 * Larra aponis  Tsuneki, 1983
 * Larra arabica  Schmid-Egger, 2014
 * Larra betsilea  de Saussure, 1887
 * Larra bicolor  Fabricius, 1804
 * Larra bicolorata  Cameron, 1904
 * Larra bulawayoensis  Bischoff, 1913
 * Larra burmeisterii   (Holmberg, 1884)
 * Larra carbonaria   (F. Smith, 1858)
 * Larra cassandra  Schrottky, 1902
 * Larra coelestina   (F. Smith, 1873)
 * Larra corrugata  R. Turner, 1912
 * Larra diversa   (Walker, 1871)
 * Larra dorsalis  Tsuneki, 1982
 * Larra dux   (Kohl, 1892)
 * Larra erratica  Bingham, 1897
 * Larra erythropyga  R. Turner, 1916
 * Larra extrema  Dahlbom, 1845
 * Larra femorata   (de Saussure, 1854)
 * Larra fenchihuensis  Tsuneki, 1967
 * Larra fuscinerva  Cameron, 1900
 * Larra glabrata   (F. Smith, 1856)
 * Larra godmani  Cameron, 1889
 * Larra heydenii   (de Saussure, 1890)
 * Larra iliensis  Kazenas, 1978
 * Larra impressifrons  Arnold, 1923
 * Larra madecassa  de Saussure, 1887
 * Larra mansueta   (F. Smith, 1865)
 * Larra maura   (Fabricius, 1787)
 * Larra mediterranea  Gistel, 1857
 * Larra melania  Tsuneki, 1982
 * Larra melanocnemis  R. Turner, 1916
 * Larra melanoptera  Kohl, 1884
 * Larra mendax   (F. Smith, 1865)
 * Larra mundula  Kohl, 1894
 * Larra neaera  Nurse, 1903
 * Larra nigripes   (Fabricius, 1793)
 * Larra obscurior  Dalla Torre, 1894
 * Larra outeniqua  Arnold, 1923
 * Larra polita   (F. Smith, 1858)
 * Larra polita luzonensis Rohwer, 1919
 * Larra praedatrix   (Strand, 1910)
 * Larra princeps   (F. Smith, 1851)
 * Larra psilocera  Kohl, 1884
 * Larra pusilla  Arnold, 1932
 * Larra pygidialis  Cameron, 1904
 * Larra rufa  Arnold, 1929
 * Larra saussurei  Kohl, 1892
 * Larra similis   (Mocsáry, 1892)
 * Larra simillima   (F. Smith, 1856)
 * Larra sinensis   (Mocsáry, 1892)
 * Larra stangei  Menke, 1992
 * Larra tarsata   (F. Smith, 1860)
 * Larra tawitawiensis  Tsuneki, 1976
 * Larra transcaspica  F. Morawitz, 1894
 * Larra variipes  de Saussure, 1892
 * Larra vechti  Sudheendrakumar and Narendran, 1985
 * Larra zarudniana  Gussakovskij, 1933