Family CHALCIDIDAE
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 Chalcididae are a medium-sized family of generally larger body size (2–15 mm) than other members of the superfamily Chalcidoidea that are characterised by having the hind femur swollen and its ventral surface toothed. They are usually black and non-metallic, but often have yellow or red patches on the legs.
Most species are primary endoparasitoids of lepidopteran (moth and butterfly) and dipteran (fly) larvae and pupae, although Hymenoptera, Coleoptera (beetles) and Neuroptera (lacewings) are also attacked. The family also contains hyperparasitoids, ectoparasitoids and gregarious species. Most are idiobiont pupal or larval parasitoids, although some are known to be koinobionts. Keys to Australasian genera are included in Boucek (1988).
Jennings & Austin (2015) list 4 unidentified species from Lord Howe Island in the Australian Museum.
General References
Jennings, J.T. & Austin, A.D. 2015. Synopsis of the hymenopteran fauna of Lord Howe Island with a preliminary checklist of species. Zootaxa 3931(3): 423–432
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23-Mar-2015 | CHALCIDOIDEA | 18-Mar-2015 | MODIFIED | |
| 07-Aug-2012 | 07-Aug-2012 | MODIFIED | ||
| 06-Feb-2012 | MODIFIED |