Family DIAPRIIDAE

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Family DIAPRIIDAE

Compiler and date details

2 July 2012 - Danielle N. Stringer, 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

30 April 2001 - N.B. Stevens, M. Iqbal & A.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 Diapriidae is the largest family of Proctotrupoidea, comprising more than 80% of species in the superfamily (Naumann 1991; Masner 1993). Diapriids vary from less than 1 mm to about 7 mm in length and are readily identified by the shelf into which the antennae are inserted, and their reduced wing venation.

Diapriids are most diverse in lower vegetation and leaf-litter, particularly in moist habitats where they parasitise various dipteran and, rarely, other hosts.

The family comprises four subfamilies, all of which are represented in Australia. Worldwide, diapriids are in urgent need of taxonomic revision, particularly at the generic level. The Australian fauna is highly endemic, mostly undescribed and probably consists of more than 500 species. Wing reduction is common in many litter species, while others associated with this habitat show adaptations such as elytraform wings (Naumann 1982). Wing reduction is also known in species that inhabit ant and termite nests.

Jennings & Austin (2015) list 17 unidentified species from Lord Howe Island in the Australian Museum.