Family APHELINIDAE

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Family APHELINIDAE

Compiler and date details

July 2012 - Danielle N. Stringer, Sarah Mantel, John T. Jennings & Andrew D. Austin, Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, and the School of Earth and Environmental Science, The University of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Introduction

The Aphelinidae are a medium-sized family of chalcids that are often overlooked due to their extremely small size (0.5–1.5 mm). They are characterised by the antenna having four or less funicular segments, the tarsi with 4–5 segments, the fore tibial spur large, curved and bifid, the metasoma broadly joined to the thorax (not petiolate), and the notauli complete, straight, deep, and widely separated posteriorly (generally by more than the length of the scutellum).

Aphelinids are commonly reared from a large variety of homopteran hosts. Most are primary ecto- or endoparasitoids of Hemiptera (bugs): Sternorrhyncha (especially Coccoidea, Aleyrodoidea, Aphidoidea). However, others attack eggs of these groups or of Orthoptera (grasshoppers and crickets), and still others are obligatory or facultative hyperparasitoids. A number of these are of particular interest because the males and females of the same species may develop in very different ways. In those species for which the biology has been well studied, the females are always primary endoparasitoids. The males, however, may develop as primary ectoparasitoids on the same host, as hyperparasitoids on their own species, as facultative hyperparasitoids on their own or other species, or as obligate hyperparasitoids on other species. There are many examples of aphelinids being used successfully in classical biological control, and this family claims more such successes than any other group of entomophagous insects.

The subfamilial classification has by no means been resolved adequately, and authors have recognised between three and seven subfamilies. The majority of aphelinids belong to the subfamilies Aphelininae (antenna with six or less segments and linea calva present) and Coccophaginae (antenna with 7–9 segments and linea calva absent). There are no keys to Australian genera, however Hayat (1983) produced a key to world genera.

Kim and Heraty (2012) reviewed the world genera of Aphelinae, presented identification keys and a phylogeny for 16 genera, including four that were new.