Chalcid wasp

Eurytoma amygdali on an almond

The jewel wasps ( Chalcidoidea ) constitute a superfamily of Hymenoptera, are among some of the smallest winged insect. They are rarely larger than 5 millimeters. The wingless males of Dicopomorpha echmepterygis be only 0.11 to 0.24 millimeters long. Most species are parasitoids, 80 species are considered as pests.

The jewel wasps comprise about 22,000 described species worldwide, of which at least 2000 species occur in Central Europe. The jewel wasps are hardly noticed because of their small size, by the people. They are often confused with small flies or other hymenoptera. In the grounds the exact determination is difficult. Therefore, the number of undiscovered species is considered to be particularly high, the total number of species within the superfamily is estimated at 400,000 to 500,000.

Features

The German -language name chalcids is due to the metallic green, blue, bronze or purple color of most species forth. However, some species show the typical wasp yellow and black warning coloration or other colors.

The venation of the wings is over the other superfamilies of wasps greatly reduced. You own the membranous forewings not completely bordered by veins cells. Chalcids have only one wire on the leading edge of both front and rear wings. On the forewing, these marginal artery branches into a post and a marginal stigmalen Branch, a few species have no branching.

Only the Scelionidae and Platygastridae of the superfamily of Zehrwespenartigen ( Proctotrupoidea ) have a similarly reduced Flügeladerung. Of these groups, the jewel wasps are easily distinguished because they between the base of the forewing and the pronotum is an additional sclerite, the Prepectus, have, so that the front wing appears to be slightly offset from the lateral corner of the pronotum.

The jewel wasps have long sensilla on the antennae, which are often seen as parallel white lines along the antennal segments.

Way of life

The vast majority of types of jewel wasps feed on parasitic in the larval stage. Here, eggs, larvae and pupae, and adult stages of the hosts may be infected. Several species of chalcid but are specialized in certain plants that live for others as larvae are predators. Although most species have a particular specialization, overall a great variety of food types and diets is used within the superfamily. Often the life also between species of a single genus is highly variable.

Parasitoids

Among the parasitic chalcid are both parasites that feed as larvae within hosts and ectoparasites that live on the host animals. There are Gregärparasitismus in which several parasites of the same species infect a host, but mainly Solitärparasitismus, in which only fed a larva of a hosts. Infestation with Erzwespenlarven usually ends with the death of the host animal, so it is at the chalcids in the majority of parasitoids. As with the ichneumon wasps or the grave the eggs from the females usually already established in the host animal. The hatching larvae then feed on the chalcids until their pupation of the animal.

Plant pests

Phytophagous species there are in the family Eurytomidae (eg Eurytoma amygdala, their larvae in the fruit of the almond tree live ), Eulophidae, Pteromalidae, and Tanaostigmatidae Torymidae. All species of the family fig wasps ( Agaonidae ) develop in figs. There are infested with a total of 44 different plant families of chalcids plants.

Predatory larvae

Some larvae of species of the family Encyrtidae are free-living and feed on prey on the eggs of various soft scales. Others, from the family of Eurytomidae, capture the larvae of gall wasps.

Families

The jewel wasps are divided into currently in 19 families, of which the largest is the family Eulophidae with nearly 4500 species. There are 90 subfamilies.

• Fig wasps ( Agaonidae )
• Aphelinidae
• Chalcididae
• Encyrtidae
• Eucharitidae
• Eulophidae (including Elasmidae )
• Eupelmidae
• Eurytomidae
• Leucospidae
• Dwarf wasps ( Mymaridae )
• Ormyridae
• Perilampidae
• Pteromalidae
• Rotoitidae
• Signiphoridae
• Tanaostigmatidae Tanaostigmodes tambotis