Caenocholax fenyesi

Caenocholax fenyesi is a species of twisted-winged parasitic insects in the order Strepsiptera and family Myrmecolacidae. It has a sporadic distribution throughout North America, Central America, and South America. Chaenochlax brasiliensis (Oliveira and Kogan 1959) is the only other named species in the genus.

C. fenyesi displays heterotrophic heteronomy, where males and females occupy different hosts. Females are endoparasites throughout their lifecycle and parasitize members of Orthoptera, while larval stage males are endoparasites of Solenopsis invicta, the red imported fire ant, and are free-living as adults. Males in Arizona, Mexico, Central America, and parts of South America have performed a host switch and parasitize native fire ants closely related to S. invicta. They are highly virulent in their adult hosts, but not in their larval hosts due to a slower growth rate in larval stages.