Mengenillidae is a family of
insects
Insects (from Latin ') are 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 of jointed ...
belonging to the order
Strepsiptera
The Strepsiptera () are an order of insects with eleven extant families that include about 600 described species. They are endoparasites of other insects, such as bees, wasps, leafhoppers, Zygentoma, silverfish, and cockroaches. Females of most s ...
.
It is the second most
basal member of the order, after
Bahiaxenidae. Unlike members of Stylopidia, which contains the vast majority of strepsipterans, the adult females of the family are free-living with legs. Members of the family with known hosts (''
Eoxenos'' and ''
Mengenilla'') parasitise members of the family
Lepismatidae (
silverfish
The silverfish (''Lepisma saccharinum'') is a species of small, primitive, wingless insect in the order Zygentoma (formerly Thysanura). Its common name derives from the insect's silvery light grey colour, combined with the fish-like appearanc ...
and kin).
Genera
After
* ''
Ceanocholax''
* ''
Congoxenos''
Kinzelbach, 1972
* ''
Eoxenos''
Peyerimhoff, 1919
* ''
Mengenilla''
Hofeneder, 1910
* ''
Trilineatoxenos''
de Carvalho, 2007
* ''
Yemengenilla''
Luna de Carvalho, 1992
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q11777369
Strepsiptera