Calesidae is a small family of

chalcid wasp 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, m ...

s, previously classified as subfamily Calesinae, in the family Aphelinidae. These tiny wasps (length less than 1 mm) are

parasitoids In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionary strategies within parasitis ...

of other small insects, mainly

whitefly Whiteflies are Hemipterans that typically feed on the undersides of plant leaves. They comprise the family Aleyrodidae, the only family in the superfamily Aleyrodoidea. More than 1550 species have been described. Description and taxonomy The ...

species, including the widespread pest ''

Aleurothrixus floccosus ''Aleurothrixus floccosus'', the woolly whitefly, is a species of whitefly in the family Aleyrodidae Whiteflies are Hemipterans that typically feed on the undersides of plant leaves. They comprise the family Aleyrodidae, the only family in t ...

''.UCD Community. 2023
Universal Chalcidoidea Database WebsiteCales Howard, 1907
Accessed on 26 July 2024.

Identification

Antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves * Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...

with a radicle two to four times longer than its width and three or four flagellomeres; the

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album '' kelsea'' Brands and enterprise ...

is fused and exceeds the length of the preceding flagellomeres. The protibial spur is short and straight. All legs have four

tarsomeres The arthropod leg is a form of jointed appendage of arthropods, usually used for walking. Many of the terms used for arthropod leg segments (called podomeres) are of Latin origin, and may be confused with terms for bones: ''coxa'' (meaning hip, plur ...

. Scutellum, axilla, and lateral lobe of mesoscutum appear fused.

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 ...

is broadly attached to

metasoma The metasoma is the posterior part of the body, or tagma, of arthropods whose body is composed of three parts, the other two being the prosoma and the mesosoma. In insects, it contains most of the digestive tract, respiratory system, and circula ...

. The marginal vein of the hind wing is highly curved. The body is pale yellowish or yellowish brown. Burks 2022 Cales noacki mesosoma lateral view showing llm ax scutellum.jpg, ''Cales noacki''; lateral view of mesosoma, showing the fused appearance of the lateral lobe of the mesoscutum (llm), the axilla (ax), and the scutellum Cales noacki female antenna, fore wing, middle leg. Howard 1907 p83 Fig19.jpg, Antenna, fore wing, and middle leg of a female ''Cales noacki''

Species

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 2,50 ...

'' is the only genus in the family. There are two species groups: *''C. noacki'' group of the Neotropics (and introduced into North America, the Mediterranean, Africa and Atlantic Ocean islands).Mottern, J. L., & Heraty, J. M. (2014). Revision of the Cales noacki species complex (H ymenoptera, C halcidoidea, A phelinidae). Systematic Entomology, 39(2), 354-379
DOIPDF
/ref> **'' Cales bicolor'' **'' Cales breviclava'' **''

Cales brevisensillum 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 ...

'' **''

Cales curvigladius 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 ...

'' **'' Cales longiseta'' **''

Cales multisensillum 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 ...

'' **''

Cales noacki 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 ...

'' **''

Cales noyesi 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 ...

'' **''

Cales parvigladius 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 ...

'' **''

Cales rosei 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 ...

'' *''C. spenceri'' group of Australia, New Zealand, and Taiwan.Polaszek, A., Shih, Y. T., & Ward, S. E. (2015). A new species of Cales (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) parasitizing Bemisia pongamiae (Takahashi)(Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) in Taiwan, with a key to world species of the Cales spenceri-group. Biodiversity Data Journal 3, e6352
DOI
/ref> **''

Cales berryi 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 ...

'' **''

Cales motterni 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 ...

'' **''

Cales orchamoplati 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 ...

'' **''

Cales spenceri 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 ...

References

{{Hymenoptera, 2 Chalcidoidea Apocrita families Monogeneric insect families