Mymaridae

Definition

A family of minute chalcidoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea), commonly called fairyflies or fairy wasps, containing approximately 100 genera and 1,400 described species distributed across temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions. Members are among the smallest insects known, with some species measuring less than 0.2 mm in body length; many are egg parasitoids of other insects.

Etymology

From Mymar (type genus) + -idae (family suffix).

Example

The mymarid genus Anagrus is widely used in biological control programs targeting leafhopper eggs in vineyards, while Dicopomorpha echmepterygis holds the record for smallest known adult insect at roughly 0.139 mm in length.

Synonyms

• Fairyflies
• fairy wasps

Related Terms

• Chalcidoidea
• Hymenoptera
• egg parasitoid
• Biological control
• microhymenoptera
• Gonatocerus
• Anagrus

Usage Notes

The common name 'fairyfly' refers to the family as a whole, though species are wasps, not flies. The group is frequently misspelled 'Myrmaridae' due to confusion with Myrmicinae (ants). Size extremes and parasitoid biology make this family significant in studies of insect miniaturization and applied biological control.