Netelia

Netelia generally are entirely orange to brownish yellow in color and are medium to large in size, with a fore wing measuring between 6 and 20 mm. They have large ocelli, which often touch the compound eyes and mandibles that are twisted 90°.^[4] Both their antennae and legs are conspicuously long for ichneumonids.^[5] In contrast to the superficially similar Ophioninae, the forewing usually has veins 2r-m and 3r-m present, the latter of which forms a small, triangular areolet, and has the Rs vein strongly bent as it approaches 3r-m. The ovipositor is also prominent, ranging from 0.3 to 0.7 times the length of the hind tibia.^[4]

Identification of species is problematic as most species are similar in both morphology and coloration. The only reliable way to diagnose species is through examination of male genitalia, particularly a structure on the clasper.^[5][4][6] The strong similarity between species has resulted in misidentifications as well as erroneous reports of species well outside of their natural ranges.^[4]

This genus is cosmopolitan.^[1][4] The genus has a high density of species, with 81 species reported just between the United States and Canada, for example.^[7][8]

• List of Netelia species