''Trichilogaster'' is a small

genus 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 n ...

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 in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Melanosomellidae, previously they were included in

Pteromalidae The Pteromalidae are a very large family of mostly parasitoid wasps, with some 3,450 described species in about 640 genera (the number was greater, but many species and genera have been reduced by synonymy in recent years). The subfamily-level di ...

subfamily Ormocerinae. With one described exception, they all are Australian species that are gall-formers on Australian species of''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus n ...

''. The exception is an Arabian species. Apart from its ecological interest, the genus is of practical importance because some of its members are successful

biocontrol 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 i ...

agents in South Africa at least, where ''T. acaciaelongifoliae'' and ''T. signiventris'' have been established successfully to control invasive Australian ''Acacia'' species, notably ''

Acacia longifolia ''Acacia longifolia'' is a species of ''Acacia'' native to southeastern Australia, from the extreme southeast of Queensland, eastern New South Wales, eastern and southern Victoria, and southeastern South Australia. Common names for it include l ...

'' and ''

Acacia pycnantha ''Acacia pycnantha'', most commonly known as the golden wattle, is a tree of the family Fabaceae native to southeastern Australia. It grows to a height of and has phyllodes (flattened leaf stalks) instead of true leaves. Sickle-shaped, thes ...

''.

Species

The species most recently recognised in a revision of the genus are: *'' Trichilogaster acaciaelongifoliae'' (Froggatt, 1892) *'' Trichilogaster arabica'' Ferrière, 1947 *'' Trichilogaster channingi'' (Girault, 1913) *'' Trichilogaster esculenta'' Ferrière, 1947 *'' Trichilogaster flavivena'' (Girault, 1931) *'' Trichilogaster maideni'' (Froggatt, 1892) *'' Trichilogaster olgae'' Prinsloo & Neser, 2007 *'' Trichilogaster pendulae'' Mayr, 1905 *'' Trichilogaster signiventris'' (Girault, 1931) *'' Trichilogaster stefani'' Prinsloo & Neser, 2007 "''Epiperilampus atra''", "''Epiperilampus atricorpus''" and "''Epiperilampus significatus''" are now regarded as synonyms of ''Trichilogaster maideni''. In the review, 13 species of documented host plants were listed, comprising one ''

Paraserianthes ''Paraserianthes'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the mimosoid clade of the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. Taxonomy ''Paraserianthes'' includes only one species: * ''Paraserianthes lophantha'' (Willd.) I.C.Nie ...

'' and 12 ''Acacia'' species.

References

External links

''Trichilogaster''
at WaspWeb Pteromalidae Hymenoptera genera {{Chalcidoidea-stub