Family MYMARIDAE

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Introduction

Mymarids are common, but are often overlooked because of their small size (typically 0.2–1.8 mm; some up to 4mm); indeed, some species approach the smallest of all insects. There are more than 270 described species from Australia. The family is characterised by the antennal toruli (sockets) closer to the eye margin than to each other (separated from the eyes by less than their own diameter); the head with a transverse suture above the antennal toruli which connects with two lateral sutures to form an 'H'; the venation of the fore wing reduced; and the hind wing usually with a basal stalk.

All mymarids, like trichogrammatids, are egg parasitoids. The most common hosts are Hemiptera (bugs), but coleopteran (beetle), psocopteran (booklice), dipteran (fly), and orthopteran (grasshopper and cricket) eggs are also attacked. A few species of mymarids attack eggs of aquatic beetles (e.g. Dytiscidae), for which they must enter the water. Some species have been used successfully in classical biological control, for example Anaphes nitens against Gonipterus scutellatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), a pest of Eucalyptus in various areas of the world. A number of other species are also important natural enemies of pests.

Jennings & Austin (2015) list 5 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