The Mymaridae, commonly known as fairyflies or fairy wasps, are a
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
of
chalcidoid wasp
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...
s found in
temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
and
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
regions throughout the world. The family contains around 100 genera with 1400 species.
Fairyflies are very tiny insects, like most chalcidoid wasps, mostly ranging from long. They include the
world's smallest known insect, with a body length of only , and the
smallest known flying insect, only long. They usually have nonmetallic black, brown, or yellow bodies. The antennae of the females are distinctively tipped by club-like segments, while male antennae are thread-like. Their wings are usually slender and possess long bristles, giving them a hairy or feathery appearance, although some species may have greatly reduced stubby wings or lack wings altogether. They can be distinguished from other chalcidoids by the H-shaped pattern of sutures on the front of their heads.
Fairyflies are among the most common chalcidoids, but are rarely noticed by humans because of their extremely small sizes. Their adult lifespans are very short, usually only a few days. All known fairyflies are
parasitoid
In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...
s of the eggs of other insects, and several species have been successfully used as
biological pest control
Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also invo ...
agents.
The
fossil record
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...
of fairyflies extends from at least the
Albian
The Albian is both an age of the geologic timescale and a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the youngest or uppermost subdivision of the Early/Lower Cretaceous Epoch/Series. Its approximate time range is 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma to 100.5 ± 0.9 M ...
age (about 107
myr
The abbreviation Myr, "million years", is a unit of a quantity of (i.e. ) years, or 31.556926 teraseconds.
Usage
Myr (million years) is in common use in fields such as Earth science and cosmology. Myr is also used with Mya (million years ago). ...
) of the
Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous ( geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma.
Geology
Pro ...
.
Taxonomy
The family Mymaridae was first established in 1833 by Irish entomologist
Alexander Henry Haliday
Alexander Henry Haliday (1806–1870, also known as Enrico Alessandro Haliday, Alexis Heinrich Haliday, or simply Haliday) was an Irish entomologist. He is primarily known for his work on Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Thysanoptera, but worked on ...
. Haliday and two close friends,
John Curtis and
Francis Walker, respected entomologists in their own right, were influential in the early studies of
Hymenoptera
Hymenoptera is a large order (biology), order of insects, comprising the sawfly, sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are Par ...
in the 19th century.
History
Haliday originally described fairyflies as the tribe "Mymares" of the family "Chalcides". He based his descriptions on the
type genus
In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name.
Zoological nomenclature
According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nominal f ...
''
Mymar
''Mymar'' is a genus of fairyflies in the family Mymaridae. There are about 10 described species in ''Mymar''.
Species
These 10 species belong to the genus ''Mymar'':
* ''Mymar africanum'' Annecke, 1961
* ''Mymar cincinnati'' Girault, 1917
* ''M ...
'', described by John Curtis in 1829.
Earlier attempts of classification by Walker treated the group as a genus, and classified all other known fairyflies under it as
subgenera
In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.
In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...
. Walker (who was infamous for his shortcomings in
systematic nomenclature
A chemical nomenclature is a set of rules to generate systematic names for chemical compounds. The nomenclature used most frequently worldwide is the one created and developed by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).
The ...
)
later conceded to Haliday's classification in a letter in 1839 and requested assistance from Haliday in classifying the wasps collected by
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
on his
voyage
Voyage(s) or The Voyage may refer to:
Literature
*''Voyage : A Novel of 1896'', Sterling Hayden
* ''Voyage'' (novel), a 1996 science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter
*''The Voyage'', Murray Bail
* "The Voyage" (short story), a 1921 story by K ...
on .
"Mymares", as well as other "tribes", were elevated to the family
rank
Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as:
Level or position in a hierarchical organization
* Academic rank
* Diplomatic rank
* Hierarchy
* H ...
(as Mymaridae) by Haliday in 1839.
Haliday described fairyflies as "the very atoms of the order Hymenoptera" and remarked on the beauty of their wings when viewed under the microscope.
These characteristics of fairyflies also made them popular to entomologists and
microscopist
Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view objects and areas of objects that cannot be seen with the naked eye (objects that are not within the resolution range of the normal eye). There are three well-known branches of micr ...
s of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The beautifully mounted fairyfly specimens of the early 20th century English microscopist
Fred Enock
Fred Enock aka Frederick Enock (17 April 1845 Manchester - 26 May 1916 Hastings
Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The ...
are possibly the most famous of the collections.
Etymology
The generic name ''Mymar'' (and by extension, Mymaridae) was derived by Curtis from the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
word μΰμαρ (''mymar''), an
Aeolian variant of the standard Greek μῶμος (''mōmos'', "spot" or "blot").
Classification
The Mymaridae are the most primitive members of the
superfamily
SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...
Chalcidoidea
Chalcid wasps (, , for their metallic colour) are insects within the superfamily Chalcidoidea, part of the order Hymenoptera. The superfamily contains some 22,500 known species, and an estimated total diversity of more than 500,000 species, me ...
.
About 1424 species of fairyflies are grouped in about 100 genera.
Of the extant fairyfly genera, ''
Eustochomorpha'' is the most primitive.
The largest genera are ''Anagrus'', ''Anaphes'', ''
Gonatocerus
''Gonatocerus'' is a genus of fairyflies in the family Mymaridae
The Mymaridae, commonly known as fairyflies or fairy wasps, are a family (biology), family of chalcid wasp, chalcidoid wasps found in temperate and tropical regions throughout th ...
'', and ''Polynema'', which comprise around half of all known species. They are the most commonly encountered fairyflies, followed by ''
Alaptus'', ''
Camptoptera'', ''
Erythmelus'', ''
Ooctonus'', and ''
Stethynium'', which make up a further quarter of known species.
The Mymaridae are considered to be
monophyletic
In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...
, but their exact relationships with other chalcidoids remain unclear.
No commonly accepted subfamilies have been acknowledged,
but two proposals are notable. Annecke & Doutte (1961) proposed the subfamilies Alaptinae and Mymarinae based on the morphology of the
gasters. Peck ''et al.'' (1964) proposed the subfamilies Gonatocerinae and Mymarinae based on the number of segments (tarsomeres) in the tarsi. Both systems included further tribal categories.
A fossil subfamily was also proposed for a genus recovered from Canadian amber.
Description
Fairyflies are very small insects. They have body lengths from , typically .
Their bodies are usually colored black, brown, or yellow, without the metallic coloration of some other wasps.
They can be distinguished from other chalcidoids by having an H-shaped pattern of sutures, known as trabeculae or carinae, below the frontmost
ocelli
A simple eye (sometimes called a pigment pit) refers to a form of eye or an optical arrangement composed of a single lens and without an elaborate retina such as occurs in most vertebrates. In this sense "simple eye" is distinct from a multi-l ...
and the inner eye margins.
Rarely, the sutures can also extend behind the ocelli.
Fairyflies have long
antennae, at least as long as the head and the
mesosoma
The mesosoma is the middle part of the body, or tagma, of arthropods whose body is composed of three parts, the other two being the prosoma and the metasoma. It bears the legs, and, in the case of winged insects, the wings.
In hymenopterans of t ...
(middle part of the body).
The antennal toruli (sockets of the antennae) are set high on the head and near the eye margins. They are separated by a distance of three to five times their own diameter. In contrast, the antennae of other chalcidoids are separated only by one diameter.
In females, the antennae are tipped with club-like segments known as clava. In males, the antennae are
filiform
Filiform, thread or filament like, can refer to:
*Filiform, a common term used in botany to describe a thread-like shape
*Filiform, or filiform catheter, a medical device whose component parts or segments are all cylindrical and more or less uni ...
(thread-like).
Most fairyflies possess wings with long bristles (marginal setae) on the fringes. The forewings usually have hypochaeta. These are small bristles (setae) which point distinctly backwards on the ventral surface of the wing membrane.
Fairyflies exhibit considerable variation in their wing shapes in comparison to other chalcidoids. The fully developed (macropterous) wings of fairyflies are normally flat with rounded tips and are several times longer than they are wide. These kinds of wings usually exhibit interspecific and intergeneric variation in terms of the length to width ratio and the shape of the wing outline (especially of the tips and the rear margins) of the forewings. In some species the forewings are relatively wide, like in the genus ''
Paranaphoidea'' which have forewings only two and a half times as long as they are wide. In other species, the forewings are extremely narrow, like in ''
Cleruchus bicilliatus'' whose forewings are about thirty times as long as they are wide.
Forewing curvature, such that it is distinctly convex or dome-shaped, is also exhibited by at least one species of the genera ''
Cremnomymar'', ''
Mymarilla'', ''
Parapolynema'', and ''
Richteria''. Most of these species inhabit particularly harsh and wind-swept environments, and the curvature may help in absorbing and retaining heat or prevent the fairyflies from being blown away.
The hindwings are stalked (petiolate) and very narrow.
They don't exhibit much variation, in contrast to the forewings. They can range from narrow and thread-like (as in members of the genus ''Mymar'') to relatively wide (as in members of the genus ''Paranaphoidea''). In rare instances, the hindwings may also exhibit curvature, with a convex or concave anterior and posterior margins.
Some fairyflies possess slightly reduced (brachypterous) to greatly reduced (micropterous) wings, while others may even be completely wingless (apterous).
Wing reduction or absence is usually exhibited by at least one sex (usually the female) of species that search for host eggs in confined areas (like leaf litter, soil, or the tubules of
bracket fungi
Polypores are a group of fungi that form large fruiting bodies with pores or tubes on the underside (see Delimitation for exceptions). They are a morphological group of basidiomycetes-like gilled mushrooms and hydnoid fungi, and not all polypor ...
). Wing reduction or absence is also exhibited by species that inhabit windy habitats like oceanic islands or high elevations, particularly endemic species which are found in isolated habitats or are located far from the nearest mainland. In these habitats, wings would only be a hindrance to the fairyflies, so are strongly
selected against in
evolution
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
. For example, the three known species of fairyflies found in the far southern islands of
Campbell Campbell may refer to:
People Surname
* Campbell (surname), includes a list of people with surname Campbell
Given name
* Campbell Brown (footballer), an Australian rules footballer
* Campbell Brown (journalist) (born 1968), American television ne ...
and
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
of the southwestern
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
and
South Georgia
South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east ...
of the southern
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
, as well as 20% of the fairyfly fauna in the
Juan Fernández Islands
The Juan Fernández Islands ( es, Archipiélago Juan Fernández) are a sparsely inhabited series of islands in the South Pacific Ocean reliant on tourism and fishing. Situated off the coast of Chile, they are composed of three main volcanic i ...
,
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...
, and
Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland P ...
, are all wingless or short-winged. While wingless and short-winged species may also be found in islands near continents and in continental habitats, they usually constitute only a small percentage of the overall number of species.
Because of their small sizes, fairyflies may sometimes be mistaken for members of the families
Aphelinidae
The Aphelinidae are a moderate-sized family of tiny parasitic wasps, with about 1100 described species in some 28 genera. These minute insects are challenging to study, as they deteriorate rapidly after death unless extreme care is taken (e.g., p ...
and
Trichogrammatidae
The Trichogrammatidae are a family of tiny wasps in the Chalcidoidea that include some of the smallest of all insects, with most species having adults less than 1 mm in length, with species of ''Megaphragma'' having an adult body length le ...
, but members of these other families can readily be distinguished by having much shorter antennae.
Distribution and habitat
Fairyflies are some of the most common chalcidoid wasps, but because of their minute sizes they are seldom noticed by humans. This apparent invisibility, their delicate bodies, and their hair-fringed wings have earned them their common name.
Fairyflies are found in
temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
and
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
regions throughout the world.
The largest number of species can be found in tropical forests, with the greatest diversity of genera found in the
Southern Hemisphere (South America, New Zealand, and Australia). In the
Nearctic
The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface.
The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America t ...
(North America), only around 28 (of around 100) genera and 120 (of around 1424) species are found.
Fairyflies can survive in all kinds of terrestrial habitats, from
desert
A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
s to
rainforest
Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...
s.
At least five species are also known to be
aquatic, inhabiting
freshwater
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...
ponds and streams.
Among these is ''
Caraphractus cinctus
''Caraphractus cinctus'' is a species of fairyfly
The Mymaridae, commonly known as fairyflies or fairy wasps, are a family of chalcidoid wasps found in temperate and tropical regions throughout the world. The family contains around 100 gener ...
'', which uses its wings as paddles to swim.
They can remain underwater for as long as 15 days.
Because of their small sizes they have to exit the water by climbing up plant stems that jut through the surface, as they would not otherwise be able to break the
surface tension
Surface tension is the tendency of liquid surfaces at rest to shrink into the minimum surface area possible. Surface tension is what allows objects with a higher density than water such as razor blades and insects (e.g. water striders) to f ...
of the water.
Ecology
All known fairyflies are
parasitoid
In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...
s of
egg
An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...
s of other insects. These eggs are commonly laid in concealed locations, such as in plant tissues or underground.
They do not seem to be species-specific when it comes to choosing
hosts
A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it.
Host may also refer to:
Places
*Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County
People
*Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman
*Michel Host ( ...
. Some species are known to parasitize insects from several families of a single
order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
. Their most commonly observed hosts are insects belonging to the order
Hemiptera
Hemiptera (; ) is an order (biology), order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, Reduviidae, assassin bugs, Cimex, bed bugs, and shield bugs. ...
(true bugs), especially
Auchenorrhyncha
The Auchenorrhyncha suborder of the Hemiptera contains most of the familiar members of what was called the "Homoptera" – groups such as cicadas, leafhoppers, treehoppers, planthoppers, and spittlebugs. The aphids and scale insects are the ot ...
(
leafhopper
A leafhopper is the common name for any species from the family Cicadellidae. These minute insects, colloquially known as hoppers, are plant feeders that suck plant sap from grass, shrubs, or trees. Their hind legs are modified for jumping, and a ...
s,
cicada
The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two ...
s, and allies) and
Coccoidea
Scale insects are small insects of the Order (biology), order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient g ...
(scale insects),
but this might be because these groups are simply better studied. Other important host orders include
Coleoptera
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
(beetles),
Diptera
Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...
(true flies),
Odonata
Odonata is an order of flying insects that includes the dragonflies and damselflies. Members of the group first appeared during the Triassic, though members of their total group, Odonatoptera, first appeared in Late Carboniferous.
The two comm ...
(
dragonflies
A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threa ...
and allies),
Psocoptera
Psocoptera are a paraphyletic group of insects that are commonly known as booklice, barklice or barkflies. The name Psocoptera has been replaced with Psocodea in recent literature, with the inclusion of the former order Phthiraptera into Psocode ...
(
booklice
Psocoptera are a paraphyletic group of insects that are commonly known as booklice, barklice or barkflies. The name Psocoptera has been replaced with Psocodea in recent literature, with the inclusion of the former order Phthiraptera into Psocod ...
and allies), and
Thysanoptera
Thrips ( order Thysanoptera) are minute (mostly long or less), slender insects with fringed wings and unique asymmetrical mouthparts. Different thrips species feed mostly on plants by puncturing and sucking up the contents, although a few are ...
(thrips). Hosts are known definitely for only a quarter of known genera.
Fairyflies include the smallest known insect, ''
Dicopomorpha echmepterygis
''Dicopomorpha echmepterygis'' is the smallest known insect and a species of parasitoid wasp in the family Mymaridae, which exhibits strong sexual dimorphism. The males are blind, apterous, and their body length is only 40% that of females. With ...
'' from
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
, whose males are only long. They do not have wings or eyes, their mouths are mere holes, and their antennae are simply spherical blobs. The ends of their legs have been modified into suction cups for clutching at females long enough to fertilize them.
Their bodies are smaller than a single-celled ''
Paramecium
''
''Paramecium'' ( , ; also spelled ''Paramoecium'') is a genus of eukaryotic, unicellular ciliates, commonly studied as a representative of the ciliate group. ''Paramecia'' are widespread in freshwater, brackish, and marine environments and a ...
''.
Four males, lined up end-to-end, would just about encompass the width of a
period
Period may refer to:
Common uses
* Era, a length or span of time
* Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Period (music), a concept in musical composition
* Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...
at the end of a typical printed sentence.
The females of the species, however, are typical fairyflies, and are much larger.
The smallest flying insect is also a mymarid, ''
Kikiki huna
''Kikiki'' is a genus of fairyfly wasps containing a single species, ''Kikiki huna'', known from Hawaii, Costa Rica, Nagarcoil and Trinidad. At (150 μm), it is the smallest flying insect known . It is a close relative of wasps in the genus ''T ...
'' from
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, which is long.
Life history
Very little is known of the life histories of fairyflies, as only a few species have been observed extensively.
They are usually solitary, but can sometimes be gregarious.
Mating occurs immediately after emergence. No courting behaviors have been observed and each female is fertilized by only one male.
Once fertilized, the males lose interest in the female and the female also loses interest in further mating.
In ''
Prestwichia aquatica
''Prestwichia aquatica'' is a species of Trichogrammatid wasp.
References
Trichogrammatidae
Insects described in 1864
Taxa named by John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury
{{chalcidoidea-stub ...
'', mating has been reported to occur prior to the emergence of females from the host eggs.
In ''P. aquatica'', ''
Anagres incarnatus'', ''
A. armatus'', and ''
Anaphes nipponicus'', females outnumber males in each brood; from two to 20 females for each male.
In ''
Polynema striaticorne'', it is the opposite, with males outnumbering females by a ratio of three or more to one. In ''
Anagrus atomus'', ''
A. frequens'', ''
A. optabilis'', ''
A. perforator'', and ''
Polynema euchariformes'', females are able to reproduce without males (
parthenogenesis
Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek grc, παρθένος, translit=parthénos, lit=virgin, label=none + grc, γένεσις, translit=génesis, lit=creation, label=none) is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development ...
), though males may still sometimes be found within broods.
Adult lifespans of fairyflies are very short.
''
Stethynium'' adults (males and females) may live only one to two days. In ''Anagrus'', depending on the species, lifespan ranges from three to 11 days.
Each fertilized (or parthenogenic) female can lay a maximum of about 100 eggs.
Access to food can prolong lifespans and increase fecundity.
In ''Gonatocerus,'' if hosts are not found females can resorb eggs, retaining energy to live longer and increase the chance of finding a host.
After emerging, females search rapidly for suitable host eggs by tapping their antennae over stems or barks of plants. When a telltale scar left by egg-laying insects is found, a female will insert her antennae into the recess and check to see if the eggs are suitable. If they are, she will thrust her
ovipositor
The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typical ...
into all of the eggs and lay her own eggs inside in quick succession. She retains contact with each of the eggs with her antennae while doing this.
Most fairyflies require enough development in
embryo
An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male spe ...
s inside the eggs, but not too much, before they attack them, as their offspring cannot mature if the eggs are too new or if the embryos inside are too advanced. Older host embryos are apparently harder for the fairyfly larvae to digest,
but there are exceptions. Some species of ''
Polynema'' can attack embryos at various stages of development. They have been recorded to produce three successive generations in a single brood of the
treehopper
Treehoppers (more precisely typical treehoppers to distinguish them from the Aetalionidae) and thorn bugs are members of the family (biology), family Membracidae, a group of insects related to the cicadas and the leafhoppers. About 3,200 species ...
''
Ceresa
''Ceresa'', commonly known as buffalo treehoppers, is a genus of treehoppers. It contains about 16 species.
*'' Ceresa albescens''
*'' Ceresa albidosparsa''
*'' Ceresa alta''
*'' Ceresa ancora''
*''Ceresa basalis''
*''Ceresa borealis''
*'' Cer ...
''.
All fairyflies possess ellipsoid eggs with a long tapering stalk. They develop rapidly once laid and can hatch in six hours to two days.
Several generations may be produced in a year, often on different hosts.
Fairyflies have two to four larval stages, all apparently without functional
spiracle Spiracle or spiraculum may refer to:
* Spiracle (arthropods), opening in the exoskeletons of some arthropods
* Spiracle (vertebrates), openings on the surface of some vertebrates
* Spiraculum, a genus of land snails in family Cyclophoridae
Cycl ...
s or
tracheae.
Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...
occurs completely within the host egg.
They are peculiar for insects which exhibit
complete metamorphosis
Holometabolism, also called complete metamorphosis, is a form of insect development which includes four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and imago (or adult). Holometabolism is a synapomorphic trait of all insects in the superorder Endopterygota. ...
(holometabolism) in that they produce two distinct kinds of
larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
The ...
l
instar
An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...
s before
pupation
A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in thei ...
. In some fairyflies, such as ''
Anaphes
''Anaphes'' is a genus of fairyflies belonging to the family Mymaridae. It was first described by Alexander Henry Haliday in 1833.
The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution.
Species
Species in the genus include:
References
Mymarid ...
'', the first instar is a highly mobile "mymmariform" larva. The second instar, however, is a completely immobile, sac-like larva without discernible segments, spines, or setae. In other fairyflies, such as ''
Anagrus
''Anagrus'' is a genus of fairyflies, in the family Mymaridae, comprising over 90 species, a number of which are employed as biocontrol agents. For classificatory purposes, the genus is divided into three subgenera ''Anagrella'', ''Anagrus'' and ...
'', this is reversed. The first instar is immobile, while the second instar is a very distinctive, highly active "hystriobdellid" larva.
At least one instar of the larvae is capable of
overwintering
Overwintering is the process by which some organisms pass through or wait out the winter season, or pass through that period of the year when "winter" conditions (cold or sub-zero temperatures, ice, snow, limited food supplies) make normal activi ...
when laid in colder seasons.
Economic importance
Fairyflies have been used for the
biological pest control
Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also invo ...
of various crop pests.
They are especially valued for their ability to locate the eggs of their hosts.
Of the fairyflies, the cosmopolitan genus ''
Anagrus
''Anagrus'' is a genus of fairyflies, in the family Mymaridae, comprising over 90 species, a number of which are employed as biocontrol agents. For classificatory purposes, the genus is divided into three subgenera ''Anagrella'', ''Anagrus'' and ...
'' is the most promising, as it can parasitize a wide range of hosts. At least ten instances of successful introductions of fairyflies to control pests are known.
In
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, ''
Anagrus optabilis'' has been successfully used to control the sugarcane planthopper (''
Perkinsiella saccharicida
''Perkinsiella saccharicida'' (known commonly as the sugarcane planthopper, sugarcane delphacid, and sugarcane leafhopper) is a species of delphacid planthopper in the family Delphacidae
Delphacidae is a family of planthoppers containing abou ...
'').
''
Anagrus epos
''Anagrus epos'' is a species of fairyfly which has been proposed as a biological control agent against ''Homalodisca vitripennis
The glassy-winged sharpshooter (''Homalodisca vitripennis'', formerly known as ''H. coagulata'') is a large lea ...
'' has also previously been used effectively against the grape leafhopper (''
Erythroneura elegans'') and the variegated grape leafhopper (''
Erythroneura variabilis'').
At first, it met limited success, as the wasps died in winter for lack of hosts. The planting of wild
blackberries
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...
(''
Rubus
''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, with over 1,350 species.
Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of these ...
'' spp.) near vineyards in California brought along with it the blackberry leafhopper (''
Dikrella cruentata''). Though not pests, ''D. cruentata'' proved to be sufficient hosts for ''A. epos'' in winter, allowing them to survive into the next year.
They have also been shown to be capable of overwintering in prune leafhoppers (''
Edwardsiana prunicola'').
''
Gonatocerus triguttatus'', ''
Gonatocerus tuberculifemur'', and ''Anagrus epos'' (which is probably a
species complex
In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...
) were also studied for possible use in controlling
glassy-winged sharpshooter
The glassy-winged sharpshooter (''Homalodisca vitripennis'', formerly known as ''H. coagulata'') is a large leafhopper (family Cicadellidae), similar to other species of sharpshooter.
Description
These sharpshooters are about in length. Thei ...
s (''Homalodisca vitripennis'') in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.
''Gonatocerus triguttatus'' and ''
Gonatocerus ashmeadi
''Gonatocerus ashmeadi'' is a species of fairyfly
The Mymaridae, commonly known as fairyflies or fairy wasps, are a family of chalcidoid wasps found in temperate and tropical regions throughout the world. The family contains around 100 gener ...
'' were eventually introduced in California in 2000. It proved to be very successful, causing about a 90% decline in populations of glassy-winged sharpshooters.
In 2005, ''
Gonatocerus ashmeadi
''Gonatocerus ashmeadi'' is a species of fairyfly
The Mymaridae, commonly known as fairyflies or fairy wasps, are a family of chalcidoid wasps found in temperate and tropical regions throughout the world. The family contains around 100 gener ...
'' was used against invasive glassy-winged sharpshooters in
Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...
and
Moorea
Moorea ( or ; Tahitian: ), also spelled Moorea, is a volcanic island in French Polynesia. It is one of the Windward Islands, a group that is part of the Society Islands, northwest of Tahiti. The name comes from the Tahitian word , meaning " ...
of the
French Polynesia
)Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze")
, anthem =
, song_type = Regional anthem
, song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui"
, image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of Frenc ...
. Again, it was very effective, bringing down the pest density by about 95% in just a year after introduction.
It was subsequently also released in the
Society Islands
The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the F ...
, the
Marquesas
The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in t ...
, and the
Austral Islands
The Austral Islands (french: Îles Australes, officially ''Archipel des Australes;'' ty, Tuha'a Pae) are the southernmost group of islands in French Polynesia, an overseas country of the French Republic in the South Pacific. Geographically, ...
, where similar results were obtained against glassy-winged sharpshooters.
In South Africa, ''
Anaphes nitens'' was introduced very successfully to control the eucalyptus snout beetle (''
Gonipterus scutellatus
''Gonipterus scutellatus'' is a species of weevil in the family Curculionidae. It is commonly known as the eucalyptus snout beetle, the eucalyptus weevil or the gum tree weevil. It feeds and breeds on ''Eucalyptus'' trees and is endemic to Austr ...
'').
In Australia and Israel, members of the genus ''Stethynium'', were being investigated in 2006 as possible biological control agents for gall-forming crop pests such as ''
Ophelimus maskelli''.
Fossil record
Fairyflies are well represented in
fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
amber inclusions,
copal
Copal is tree resin, particularly the aromatic resins from the copal tree ''Protium copal'' (Burseraceae) used by the cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica as ceremonially burned incense and for other purposes. More generally, copal includes re ...
, and
compression fossil
A compression fossil is a fossil preserved in sedimentary rock that has undergone physical compression. While it is uncommon to find animals preserved as good compression fossils, it is very common to find plants preserved this way. The reason fo ...
s. Their fossils have been found from the
Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous ( geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma.
Geology
Pro ...
up to the
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...
epoch
In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured.
The moment of epoch is usually decided by ...
. It is, in fact, the only family of chalcidoids definitely known to date back to the
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
period.
Paleogene
The Paleogene ( ; British English, also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period, geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million yea ...
and
Neogene
The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...
fossils of fairyflies were first described in 1901 by
Fernand Anatole Meunier. He described fossil fairyflies from
Baltic amber
The Baltic region is home to the largest known deposit of amber, called Baltic amber or succinite. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that these forests created more than 1 ...
, most of them from the
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...
(55 to 37 mya). In 1973,
Richard L. Doutt described several species from the
Burdigalian
The Burdigalian is, in the geologic timescale, an age (geology), age or stage (stratigraphy), stage in the early Miocene. It spans the time between 20.43 ± 0.05 annum, Ma and 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago). Preceded by the Aquitanian (sta ...
(20 to 15 mya) amber of Mexico. In 1983,
Csaba Thuróczy described another species from Baltic amber, this time dating to the
Oligocene
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...
(33 to 23 mya). And in 2011,
John T. Huber and
Dale Greenwalt described fairyfly fossils from the
oil shale
Oil shale is an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock containing kerogen (a solid mixture of organic chemical compounds) from which liquid hydrocarbons can be produced. In addition to kerogen, general composition of oil shales constitute ...
s of the
Kishenehn Formation The Kishenehn Formation is a Paleogene stratigraphic unit in Montana. Fossil amiiforme and teleost fish have been found in outcrops of the formation's Coal Creek Member in Glacier National Park. Mosquitos have also been found in the Coal Creek Me ...
(
Lutetian
The Lutetian is, in the geologic timescale, a stage or age in the Eocene. It spans the time between . The Lutetian is preceded by the Ypresian and is followed by the Bartonian. Together with the Bartonian it is sometimes referred to as the Midd ...
age) of
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
. These comprised two new genera and six species.
Cretaceous fairyflies are much rarer. In 1975,
Carl M. Yoshimoto Carl may refer to:
*Carl, Georgia, city in USA
*Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
*Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name
*Carl², a TV series
* "Carl", an episode of tel ...
described four genera of fairyflies from the Cretaceous of Canada. In 2011, John T. Huber and
George Poinar Jr.
George O. Poinar Jr. (born April 25, 1936) is an American entomologist and writer. He is known for popularizing the idea of extracting DNA from insects fossilized in amber, an idea which received widespread attention when adapted by Michael Cr ...
described the genus ''
Myanmymar'' from
Burmese amber
Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 100 million years ago, during the latest Albian to earliest Cenomanian ages of the mid-Cretaceous period. The ...
. Dating back to the Lower
Cenomanian
The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the s ...
age (about 100 mya) of the Late Cretaceous, it is the oldest known fairyfly (and chalcidoid). They are surprisingly very similar to modern genera, though with a greater number of flagellar segments and longer forewing veins. The characteristics of the fossil (taking into account Yoshimoto's earlier discoveries) led them to conclude fairfylies either may have existed much earlier than ''Myanmymar'', or they may have diversified rapidly during that time period.
Genera
Mymaridae include the
genera
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
listed below.
''
Allomymar
''Allomymar'' is a little-known monotypic genus of chalcid wasps belonging to the family Aphelinidae. The only species within the genus is ''Allomymar taitae'' and it is possible that ''Allomymar'' is synonymous with ''Encarsia
''Encarsia'' ...
'' and ''
Metanthemus'' has been transferred to the family
Aphelinidae
The Aphelinidae are a moderate-sized family of tiny parasitic wasps, with about 1100 described species in some 28 genera. These minute insects are challenging to study, as they deteriorate rapidly after death unless extreme care is taken (e.g., p ...
. The fossil genus ''
Protooctonus'' has been transferred to the family
Mymarommatidae
The Mymarommatidae, sometimes referred to as false fairy wasps. are a very small family of microscopic parasitic wasps. Only about half of the known species are living taxa (the others are fossils), but they are found worldwide.Gibson, G.A.P.; Re ...
, and is now considered to be a
synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
of ''
Archaeromma''.
''Nesopolynema'', ''Oncomymar'', and ''Scolopsopteron'' were synonymized to the genus ''
Cremnomymar'' in 2013, and their species are now classified under the latter.
''
Shillingsworthia'' is also excluded, as it was a tongue-in-cheek hypothetical concept of a species from the planet
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
, "described" by
Alexandre Arsène Girault
Alexandre Arsène Girault ( ; 9 January 1884 – 2 May 1941) was an American entomologist specializing in the study of chalcid wasps. An eccentric and controversial figure, Girault was also a prolific and dedicated entomologist. He published mor ...
in 1920 to disparage his colleague
Johann Francis Illingworth.
Genera marked with † are extinct.
Extant genera
*''
Acanthomymar''
Subba Rao Subbarao or Subba Rao ( te, సుబ్బారావు, Kannada: ಸುಬ್ಬ ರಾವ್), sometimes spelled SubbaRow or Subba Row, is an Indian name.
People with the name
* Adurthi Subba Rao (1912–1975), Telugu film director
* B. A. Sub ...
, 1970
*''
Acmopolynema''
Ogloblin, 1946
*''
Acmotemnus''
Noyes & Valentine, 1989
*''
Agalmopolynema''
Ogloblin, 1960
*''
Alaptus''
Ferrière, 1930
*''
Allanagrus''
Noyes & Valentine, 1989
*''
Allarescon''
Noyes & Valentine, 1989
*''
Anagroidea''
Girault, 1915
*''
Anagrus
''Anagrus'' is a genus of fairyflies, in the family Mymaridae, comprising over 90 species, a number of which are employed as biocontrol agents. For classificatory purposes, the genus is divided into three subgenera ''Anagrella'', ''Anagrus'' and ...
''
Haliday, 1833
*''
Anaphes
''Anaphes'' is a genus of fairyflies belonging to the family Mymaridae. It was first described by Alexander Henry Haliday in 1833.
The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution.
Species
Species in the genus include:
References
Mymarid ...
''
Haliday, 1833
*''
Anneckia''
Subba Rao, 1970
*''
Apoxypteron''
Noyes & Valentine, 1989
*''
Arescon''
Walker, 1846
*''
Australomymar''
Girault, 1929
*''
Baburia''
Hedqvist, 2004
*''
Bakkendorfia''
Mathot, 1966
*''
Boccacciomymar''
Triapitysn & Berezovskiy, 2007
*''
Borneomymar''
Huber, 2002
*''
Boudiennyia''
Girault, 1937
*''
Bruchomymar''
Ogloblin, 1939
*''
Caenomymar''
Yoshimoto, 1990
*''
Callodicopus''
Ogloblin, 1955
*''
Camptoptera''
Förster, 1856
*''
Camptopteroides''
Viggiani, 1974
*''
Caraphractus''
Walker, 1846
*''
Ceratanaphes''
Noyes & Valentine, 1989
*''
Chaetomymar''
Ogloblin, 1946
*''
Chrysoctonus''
Mathot, 1966
*''
Cleruchoides''
Lin & Huber, 2007
*''
Cleruchus''
Enock, 1909
*''
Cnecomymar''
Ogloblin, 1963
*''
Cremnomymar''
Ogloblin, 1952
*''
Cybomymar''
Noyes & Valentine, 1989
*''
Dicopomorpha''
Ogloblin, 1955
*''
Dicopus''
Enock, 1909
*''
Dorya''
Noyes & Valentine, 1989
*''
Entrichopteris''
Yoshimoto, 1990
*''
Eofoersteria''
Mathot, 1966
*''
Erdosiella''
Soyka, 1956
*''
Erythmelus''
Enock, 1909
*''
Eubroncus''
Yoshimoto, Kozlov & Trjapitzin, 1972
*''
Eucleruchus''
Ogloblin, 1940
*''
Eustochomorpha''
Girault, 1915
*''
Eustochus''
Haliday, 1833
*''
Formicomymar''
Yoshimoto, 1990
*''
Gahanopsis''
Ogloblin, 1946
*''
Ganomymar''
De Santis, 1972
*''
Gonatocerus
''Gonatocerus'' is a genus of fairyflies in the family Mymaridae
The Mymaridae, commonly known as fairyflies or fairy wasps, are a family (biology), family of chalcid wasp, chalcidoid wasps found in temperate and tropical regions throughout th ...
''
Nees, 1834
*''
Haplochaeta''
Noyes & Valentine, 1989
*''
Himopolynema''
Taguchi, 1977
*''
Idiocentrus''
Gahan, 1927
*''
Ischiodasys''
Noyes & Valentine, 1989
*''
Kalopolynema''
Ogloblin, 1960
*''
Kikiki
''Kikiki'' is a genus of fairyfly wasps containing a single species, ''Kikiki huna'', known from Hawaii, Costa Rica, Nagarcoil and Trinidad. At (150 μm), it is the smallest flying insect known . It is a close relative of wasps in the genus ''T ...
''
Huber & Beardsley, 2000
*''
Kompsomymar''
Lin & Huber, 2007
*''
Krokella''
Huber, 1993
*''
Kubja
Kubja is a hunchbacked woman from Mathura, who the Hindu god Krishna is described to have rescued and made beautiful.
The episode is described in the ''Bhagavata Purana'', ''Brahmavaivarta Purana'' and the ''Sur sagar'' by Surdas.
Background
...
''
Subba Rao, 1984
*''
Litus''
Haliday, 1833
*''
Macrocamptoptera''
Girault, 1910
*''
Malfattia''
Meunier, 1901
*''
Mimalaptus''
Noyes & Valentine, 1989
*''
Mymar
''Mymar'' is a genus of fairyflies in the family Mymaridae. There are about 10 described species in ''Mymar''.
Species
These 10 species belong to the genus ''Mymar'':
* ''Mymar africanum'' Annecke, 1961
* ''Mymar cincinnati'' Girault, 1917
* ''M ...
''
Curtis, 1829
*''
Mymarilla''
Westwood, 1879
*''
Myrmecomymar''
Yoshimoto, 1990
*''
Narayanella''
Subba Rao, 1976
*''
Neolitus''
Ogloblin, 1935
*''
Neomymar''
Crawford, 1913
*''
Neostethynium''
Ogloblin, 1964
*''
Neserythmelus''
Noyes & Valentine, 1989
*''
Nesomymar''
Valentine, 1971
*''
Nesopatasson''
Valentine, 1971
*''
Notomymar''
Doutt & Yoshimoto, 1970
*''
Omyomymar''
Schauff, 1983
*''
Ooctonus''
Haliday, 1833
*''
Palaeoneura
''Palaeoneura'' is a genus of wasps belonging to the family Mymaridae.
The species of this genus are found in Northern America and Australia.
Species:
*''Palaeoneura durwest''
*''Palaeoneura evanescens''
*''Palaeoneura frater''
*''Palaeoneu ...
''
Waterhouse, 1915
*''
Palaeopatasson''
Witsack, 1986
*''
Paracmotemnus''
Noyes & Valentine, 1989
*''
Paranaphoidea''
Girault, 1913
*''
Parapolynema''
Fidalgo, 1982
*''
Parastethynium''
Lin & Huber ''in'' Lin, Huber & La Salle, 2007
*''
Platyfrons''
Yoshimoto, 1990
*''
Platypolynema''
Ogloblin, 1960
*''
Platystethynium''
Ogloblin, 1946
*''
Polynema''
Haliday, 1833
*''
Polynemoidea
''Polynemoidea'' is a genus of fairyflies within the family Mymaridae. There are currently 6 species assigned to the genus, with an extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a specie ...
''
Girault, 1913
*''
Polynemula''
Ogloblin, 1967
*''
Prionaphes''
Hincks, 1961
*''
Pseudanaphes''
Noyes & Valentine, 1989
*''
Pseudocleruchus''
Donev & Huber, 2002
*''
Ptilomymar''
Annecke & Doutt, 1961
*''
Restisoma''
Yoshimoto, 1990
*''
Richteria''
Girault, 1920
*''
Schizophragma''
Ogloblin, 1949
*''
Scleromymar''
Noyes & Valentine, 1989
*''
Steganogaster''
Noyes & Valentine, 1989
*''
Stephanocampta''
Mathot, 1966
*''
Stephanodes''
Enock, 1909
*''
Stethynium''
Enock, 1909
*''
Tanyostethium''
Yoshimoto, 1990
*''
Tetrapolynema''
Ogloblin, 1946
*''
Tinkerbella
''Tinkerbella'' is a genus of fairy wasps, containing the single species ''Tinkerbella nana'' from Costa Rica. It is one of the smallest known flying arthropods and belongs to the family Mymaridae. The smallest flying arthropod known was '' Meg ...
''
Huber & Noyes, 2013
*''
Zelanaphes''
Noyes & Valentine, 1989
Fossil genera
These
fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
genera are classified under Mymaridae:
*†''
Carpenteriana''
Yoshimoto, 1975 Canadian amber
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
, Late Cretaceous (
Campanian
The Campanian is the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous Epoch on the geologic timescale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In chronostratigraphy, it is the fifth of six stages in the Upper Cretaceous Series. Campanian s ...
)
*†''
Enneagmus''
Yoshimoto, 1975 Canadian amber, Campanian
*†''
Eoanaphes''
Huber ''in'' Huber & Greenwalt, 2011 Kishenehn Formation The Kishenehn Formation is a Paleogene stratigraphic unit in Montana. Fossil amiiforme and teleost fish have been found in outcrops of the formation's Coal Creek Member in Glacier National Park. Mosquitos have also been found in the Coal Creek Me ...
, Montana, Eocene (
Lutetian
The Lutetian is, in the geologic timescale, a stage or age in the Eocene. It spans the time between . The Lutetian is preceded by the Ypresian and is followed by the Bartonian. Together with the Bartonian it is sometimes referred to as the Midd ...
)
*†''
Eoeustochus''
Huber ''in'' Huber & Greenwalt, 2011 Kishenehn Formation, Montana, Lutetian
*†''
Macalpinia''
Yoshimoto, 1975 Canadian amber, Campanian
*†''
Myanmymar''
Huber ''in'' Huber & Poinar, 2011 Burmese amber
Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 100 million years ago, during the latest Albian to earliest Cenomanian ages of the mid-Cretaceous period. The ...
, Late Cretaceous (
Cenomanian
The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the s ...
)
*†''
Triadomerus''
Yoshimoto, 1975 Canadian amber, Campanian
Collection and preservation
Despite their relative abundance, fairyflies are unpopular among modern insect collectors because of the great difficulty in collecting them.
As one of the least known insect families, a large amount of information is still waiting to be discovered about fairyflies.
This is an area of entomology where an amateur naturalist can still make significant contributions.
In the 19th century, Curtis described the methods by which Haliday collected fairyflies as thus:
The best modern collection method is using
Malaise traps. It requires little maintenance and can collect insects in great abundance. Other effective methods include
yellow pan trapping,
sweep net
Insect collecting refers to the collection of insects and other arthropods for scientific study or as a hobby. Most insects are small and the majority cannot be identified without the examination of minute morphological characters, so entomol ...
s, and
suction trapping. Direct collection from leaf litter with
Berlese funnels can also result in specimens that can not be collected by other means.
Rearing is also another method that can bring the most rewards. This can be done with wild host eggs or laboratory-prepared host eggs that are exposed in suitable habitats outside. They can then be taken in after a sufficient amount of time has passed and examined for developing fairyflies. With this method, it is possible to observe the life history and determine the hosts of particular species of discovered fairyflies.
Preservation is a problem for fairyflies (and other small insects). Their tiny sizes require special methods. Specimens have to be dried, if collected wet, e.g. if
ethyl alcohol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl group linked to a hyd ...
is used as the
killing agent. Drying can make specimens extremely brittle, so additional care should also be taken not to disintegrate them. Mounting specimens (preferably in permanent slides) is also time-consuming and requires a fair amount of practice. They are gummed or glued onto cards, as they can not be mounted on pins like larger insects.
See also
*
Biological pest control
Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also invo ...
*
Parasitoid wasp
Parasitoid wasps are a large group of hymenopteran superfamilies, with all but the wood wasps (Orussoidea) being in the wasp-waisted Apocrita. As parasitoids, they lay their eggs on or in the bodies of other arthropods, sooner or later causin ...
*
Trichogrammatidae
The Trichogrammatidae are a family of tiny wasps in the Chalcidoidea that include some of the smallest of all insects, with most species having adults less than 1 mm in length, with species of ''Megaphragma'' having an adult body length le ...
*
Trophic egg A trophic egg, in most species that produce them, usually is an unfertilised egg because its function is not reproduction but nutrition; in essence it serves as food for offspring hatched from viable eggs. The production of trophic eggs has been obs ...
References
External links
USDA MymaridaeImages
{{Taxonbar, from=Q244437
Mymaridae
Biological pest control wasps
Extant Early Cretaceous first appearances