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Family Mymaridae - Fairy Wasps

Mymaridae, #1 antennae - Gonatocerus rivalis - female

Gonatocerus nr. morrilli? - Gonatocerus - male

egg case on grass, cover removed - Anagrus

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)

No Taxon ("Parasitica" - Parasitoid Wasps)

Superfamily Chalcidoidea (Chalcidoid Wasps)

Family Mymaridae (Fairy Wasps)

Other Common Names

Fairyflies

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

No generally accepted subfamily classification has been proposed(1)

Explanation of Names

Mymaridae Haliday, 1833

Numbers

>200 spp. in 32 genera in our area, >1400 spp. in ~100 genera worldwide(2)(1)

Size

0.2‒1 mm (among the smallest insects)(3)

Identification

Do not closely resemble any other wasps. The most easily observable characters are(2):

stalked, narrowly elongate hindwing

long clubbed female antennae (filiform in males)

greatly reduced venation which terminates within the first third of the wing (except in Arescon and Krokella)

no discernible stigmal or postmarginal vein

antennal toruli widely separated

vertex surrounded by thickened bands of cuticle and separated from the face by a suture

Key to New World genera in (4). (outdated key in (5))

Food

insects egg parasitoids(3)

After laying the egg in a host, the female marks the egg's surface with her ovipositor. This mark is detectable by other females probing for an unoccupied host.(6)

Remarks

Among the smallest of insects(6)

Print References

Huber, Read, and Triapitsyn 2020 (4)

Internet References

"These insects are smaller than a single cell… How?!" (SciShow) ―video loaded with info

Works Cited

1.	Universal Chalcidoidea Database

2.	A handbook of the families of Nearctic Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera). 2nd Edition Grissell E.E., Schauff M. E. 1997. Ent. Soc. Wash. 87pp.

3.	American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.

4.	Illustrated key to genera and catalogue of Mymaridae (Hymenoptera) in America north of Mexico J. T. Huber, J. D. Read, and S. V. Triapitsyn. 2020. Zootaxa 4773 (3): 1–411.

5.	Review of the genera of New World Mymaridae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) Carl M. Yoshimoto. 1990. Flora and Fauna Handbook (Book 7), CRC Press.

6.	Hidden Company that Trees Keep: Life from Treetops to Root Tips James B. Nardi. 2023. Princeton University Press.

Contributed by Hannah Nendick-Mason on 6 July, 2006 - 8:59am
Additional contributions by cotinis, Beatriz Moisset, Bbarnd, Kevin Hall, v belov, Edward Ruden, Marci Hess, PaleoJon
Last updated 31 January, 2025 - 11:20pm

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