The Aphelinidae are a moderate-sized family of tiny

parasitic 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 causi ...

s, 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., preservation in

ethanol Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH, where Et is the ps ...

), making identification of most museum specimens difficult. The

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e of the majority are primary

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 on

Hemiptera Hemiptera (; ) is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising more than 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from ...

, though other hosts are attacked, and details of the life history can be variable (e.g., some attack eggs, some attack pupae, and others are hyperparasites). Males and females may have different hosts and different life historie

They are found throughout the world in virtually all habitats, and are extremely important as

biological control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, whether pest animals such as insects and mites, weeds, or pathogens affecting animals or plants by using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or o ...

agents. The oldest fossils are known from the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

aged

Baltic Amber Baltic amber or succinite is amber from the Baltic region, home of its largest known deposits. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that this forested region provided the re ...

. They are difficult to separate from other Chalcidoidea except by subtle features of the wing venation and other difficult characters, and the family appears to be

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

, so is likely to be split up in the future (e.g., the Calesinae may become a separate family). The families Azotidae and Eriaporidae were recently elevated in rank from subfamilies of Aphelinidae.

Genera

*'' Allomymar'' *'' Aphelinus'' *''

Aphytis Aphytis (), also Aphyte (Ἀφύτη) and Aphytus or Aphytos (Ἄφυτος), was an ancient Greek city in Pallene, the westernmost headland of Chalcidice. Around the middle of the 8th century BC colonists from Euboea arrived. The city became ...

'' *''

Bardylis Bardylis or Bardyllis (; ; –358 BC) was an Illyrian king, and the founder of the first attested Illyrian dynasty. During his reign, Bardylis aimed to make Illyria a regional power interfering with Macedon. He united many southern Illyrian ...

'' *'' Botryoideclava'' *''

Cales Cales was an ancient city of Campania, in today's ''comune'' of Calvi Risorta in southern Italy, belonging originally to the Aurunci/ Ausoni, on the Via Latina. The Romans captured it in 335 BC and established a colony with Latin rights of ...

'' *'' Centrodora'' *'' Coccobius'' *'' Coccophagoides'' *'' Coccophagus'' *'' Dirphys'' *'' Encarsia'' *'' Eretmocerus'' *'' Eriaphytis'' *'' Eutrichosomella'' *'' Hirtaphelinus'' *'' Lounsburyia'' *'' Marietta'' *'' Marlattiella'' *'' Metanthemus'' *'' Oenrobia'' *'' Proaphelinoides'' *'' Prophyscus'' *'' Protaphelinus'' *'' Pteroptrix'' *'' Samariola'' *'' Timberlakiella'' *'' Verekia''

References

* Yasnosh, V. A., 1983. Review of the world genera of Aphelinidae (Hymenoptera). 1. key to the genera.''Entomological Review'' 62:145-159.

External links

Universal Chalcidoidea Database

Research on Aphelinidae

on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site
a citrus whitefly parasitoid, ''Encarsia lahorensis ''
on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site {{Chalcidoidea-stub Biological pest control wasps Apocrita families Taxa named by Carl Gustaf Thomson Insects described in 1876