Nudiviruses are double-stranded DNA viruses, with their genome notably ranging from 130-140 kilobases in length.

[7] Today, nudiviruses are assigned to the class Naldaviricetes that is composed of three other large dsDNA virus families: Baculoviridae, Hytrosaviridae and Nimaviridae.

[4] Transmission of nudiviruses occurs horizontally by feeding,[9] mating and vertically from mother to offspring.

[28] They replicate in the nucleus of infected host cells and in some parasitoid wasp species, a nudivirus genome, in proviral form, is integrated into the wasp genome and produces virus like particles called polydnaviruses that are injected into lepidopteran larvae and are thought to facilitate parasitization of the larvae.

Baculoviruses and nudiviruses differ in gene content, genome organization, cytopathology, infection of adults and most likely in host range.

[39] The 20 core genes common in both baculoviruses and nudiviruses are involved in RNA transcription, DNA replication, virion structural components and many other functions.

[40] Gene content and sequence similarity suggest that the nudiviruses GbNV, HzNV-1, and OrNV form a monophyletic group of nonoccluded double-stranded DNA viruses, which separated from the baculovirus lineage before this radiated into dipteran-, hymenopteran-, and lepidopteran-specific clades of occluded nucleopolyhedroviruses and granuloviruses.

[45][46][47] The drs identified in various nudivirus genomes have no homology to each other and are present in both coding and noncoding regions.

[54] Micro RNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules that play important roles in the regulation of genes in eukaryotic organisms.

The first reported nudivirus encoded miRNA was from Heliothis zea nudivirus-1 which was shown to regulate virus latency.

In the southwest Pacific islands, OrNV has been shown to be an effective biocontrol agent against the palm pest, the coconut rhinoceros beetle.

[60] However occluded nudiviruses, with such protein bodies, such as those of Tipula oleracea and Penaeus monodon have been characterized.