Psolodesmus mandarinus mandarinus with female of Hydrophylita emporos - journal

The Trichogrammatidae are a family of tiny wasps in the

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 ...

that include some of the smallest of all

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s, with most species having adults less than 1 mm in length, with species of ''

Megaphragma ''Megaphragma'' is a wasp genus in the family 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 ...

'' having an adult body length less than 300 μm. The over 840 species are placed in about 80 genera; their distribution is worldwide. Trichogrammatids parasitize the

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

of many different

orders 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 ...

of insects. As such, they are among the more important

biological 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 known, attacking many pest insects (especially

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

). They are not strong fliers and are generally moved through the air by the prevailing winds. Their fore wings are typically somewhat stubby and paddle-shaped, with a long fringe of hinged

seta In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. Th ...

e around the outer margin to increase the surface area during the downstroke. Males of some species are wingless, and mate with their sisters inside the host egg in which they are born, dying without ever leaving the host egg. Trichogrammatidae have unique

nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. The nervous system detects environmental changes th ...

s resulting from the necessity to conserve space. They have one of the smallest

s, with one particularly diminutive species, ''

Megaphragma mymaripenne ''Megaphragma mymaripenne'' is a very small wasp. At 200 μm ( mm; inch) in length, it is the third- smallest extant insect, comparable in size to some single-celled organisms. It has a highly reduced nervous system, containing only 7,400 ...

'', containing as few as 7,400 neurons. They are also the first (and only) known animals which have functioning

neuron A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa. N ...

s without nuclei. The neurons develop during

pupa 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 their ...

tion with functional nuclei and manufacture enough

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

s to last through the short lifespans of the adults. Before emerging as an adult, the nuclei are destroyed, allowing the wasp to conserve space by making the neurons smaller. Even without nuclei (which contain the DNA, essential for manufacturing proteins to repair damage in living cells), the neurons can survive because the proteins manufactured as a pupa are sufficient. Their fossil record extends back to the Eocene aged

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 ...

Genera

* '' Adelogramma'' * '' Adryas'' * ''

Aphelinoidea ''Aphelinoidea'' is a genus of wasps belonging to the family 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 ...

'' * '' Apseudogramma'' * '' Asynacta'' * '' Australufens'' * '' Bloodiella'' * '' Brachista'' * '' Brachistagrapha'' * '' Brachygrammatella'' * '' Brachyia'' * '' Brachyufens'' * '' Burksiella'' * '' Centrobiopsis'' * '' Ceratogramma'' * '' Chaetogramma'' * '' Chaetostricha'' * '' Chaetostrichella'' * '' Densufens'' * '' Doirania'' * '' Emeria'' * '' Enneagmus'' * '' Epoligosita'' * '' Epoligosita'' * '' Eteroligosita'' * '' Eutrichogramma'' * '' Haeckeliania'' * '' Hayatia'' * '' Hispidophila'' * '' Hydrophylita'' * '' Ittys'' * '' Ittysella'' * '' Japania'' * '' Kyuwia'' * '' Lathromeris'' * '' Lathromeroidea'' * '' Lathromeromyia'' * ''

'' * '' Microcaetiscus'' * '' Mirufens'' * '' Monorthochaeta'' * '' Neobrachista'' * '' Neobrachistella'' * '' Neocentrobia'' * '' Neocentrobiella'' * '' Neolathromera'' * '' Nicolavespa'' * '' Oligosita'' * '' Oligositoides'' * '' Ophioneurus'' * ''

Pachamama Pachamama is a goddess revered by the indigenous peoples of the Andes. In Inca mythology she is an " Earth Mother" type goddess, Dransart, Penny. (1992) "Pachamama: The Inka Earth Mother of the Long Sweeping Garment." ''Dress and Gender: Making ...

'' * '' Paracentrobia'' * '' Paraittys'' * '' Paratrichogramma'' * '' Paruscanoidea'' * '' Pintoa'' * '' Poropoea'' * ''

Prestwichia ''Prestwichia'' is a wasp genus in the family Trichogrammatidae. It contains seven species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is of ...

'' * '' Probrachista'' * '' Prochaetostricha'' * '' Prosoligosita'' * '' Prouscana'' * '' Pseudobrachysticha'' * '' Pseudogrammina'' * '' Pseudoligosita'' * '' Pseudomirufens'' * '' Pseuduscana'' * '' Pterandrophysalis'' * '' Pteranomalogramma'' * '' Pterygogramma'' * '' Sinepalpigramma'' * '' Soikiella'' * '' Szelenyia'' * '' Thanatogramma'' * '' Thoreauia'' * ''

Trichogramma ''Trichogramma'' is a genus of minute polyphagous wasps that are endoparasitoids of insect eggs. ''Trichogramma'' is one of around 80 genera from the family Trichogrammatidae, with over 200 species worldwide.Consoli FL, Parra JRP, Zucchi RA (201 ...

'' * '' Trichogrammatella'' * '' Trichogrammatoidea'' * '' Trichogrammatomyia'' * '' Tumidiclava'' * '' Tumidifemur'' * ''

Ufens Ufens is a character in Virgil's ''The Aeneid'' as well as Silius' ''Punica ''Punica'' is a small genus of fruit-bearing deciduous shrubs or small trees in the flowering plant family Lythraceae. The better known species is the pomegranat ...

'' * '' Ufensia'' * '' Urogramma'' * ''

Uscana Uscana or Hyscana was a settlement of the Illyrian tribe of the Penestae in southern Illyria, modern Albania. See also * List of settlements in Illyria This is a list of settlements in Illyria founded by Illyrians (southern Illyrians, Darda ...

'' * '' Uscanella'' * '' Uscanoidea'' * '' Uscanopsis'' * '' Viggianiella'' * '' Xenufens'' * '' Xenufensia'' * '' Xiphogramma'' * '' Zaga'' * '' Zagella'' * '' Zelogramma''

References

* Doutt, R.L. & Viggiani, G. 1968. The classification of the Trichogrammatidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea). ''Proceedings Calif. Acad. Sci.'' 35:477-586. * Matheson, R. & Crosby, C.R. 1912. Aquatic Hymenoptera in America. ''Annals of the Entomological Society of America'' 5:65-71. * Nagarkatti, S. & Nagaraja, H. 1977. Biosystematics of Trichogramma and Trichogrammatoidea species. ''Annual Review of Entomology'' 22:157-176.

External links

Universal Chalicidoid Database

Apocrita families Insects used as insect pest control agents Biological pest control wasps {{Chalcidoidea-stub