Chalcidoidea
Guides
Torymus californicus
Torymus californicus is a species of chalcid wasp in the family Torymidae, first described by Ashmead in 1886. The species is recorded from the United States. Torymidae are primarily parasitoids associated with gall-forming insects and other hosts. Specific biological details for this species remain poorly documented in available literature.
Torymus flavicoxa
Torymus flavicoxa is a parasitoid wasp in the family Torymidae, a group known for attacking insects within plant galls. The species has been recorded as a parasite of psyllid nymphs inhabiting hackberry leaf galls. It is distributed across Canada from British Columbia to Ontario.
Torymus fullawayi
Torymus fullawayi is a small parasitoid wasp in the family Torymidae, described by Huber in 1927. The species belongs to a genus known for gall-associated parasitism, though specific biological details for this species remain poorly documented. Torymid wasps are generally recognized as parasitoids of gall-forming insects and occasionally as seed-feeders. Records indicate this species has been collected in western North America, with specimens held in major entomological collections.
Torymus koebelei
Torymus koebelei is a species of chalcid wasp in the family Torymidae. The species was described by Huber in 1927. Torymus species are generally known as parasitoids of gall-forming insects, particularly gall wasps and gall midges. T. koebelei has been documented in the western United States, including California, where it has been reared from oak apple galls.
Torymus rugglesi
Torymus rugglesi is a species of chalcidoid wasp in the family Torymidae, described by Milliron in 1959. The species is known from the eastern United States, with distribution records from Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Torymid wasps are typically parasitoids, with many species associated with gall-forming insects or plant galls. Specific biological details for T. rugglesi remain limited in published literature.
Torymus tubicola
Torymus tubicola is a species of chalcid wasp in the family Torymidae. The species is known to parasitize gall-forming insects, including psyllid nymphs within plant galls. It has been recorded from multiple provinces across Canada.
Trichogramma
Trichogramma wasps, egg parasitoid wasps
Trichogramma is a genus of minute polyphagous wasps that are endoparasitoids of insect eggs. With over 200 species worldwide, it is one of approximately 80 genera in the family Trichogrammatidae. These wasps are among the most extensively studied and widely used biological control agents globally, with more than a thousand published papers on their biology and applications. Trichogramma species have also gained attention in neuroscience research due to their extremely small brain size—fewer than 10,000 neurons—while still exhibiting complex behaviors.
biological-controlegg-parasitoidintegrated-pest-managementneuroscience-modelWolbachiamass-rearingagricultural-pest-managementChalcidoideaTrichogrammatidaeaugmentative-biological-controlinundative-releasesustainable-agriculturerice-pest-managementcotton-pest-managementorchard-pest-managementforest-pest-managementparthenogenesischemosensory-biologyminiaturizationbrain-evolutionTrichogrammatidae
trichogrammatid wasps, egg parasitoid wasps
Trichogrammatidae are a family of minute endoparasitoid wasps in the superfamily Chalcidoidea, containing over 840 species in approximately 80 genera with worldwide distribution. Adults of most species measure less than 1 mm in length, with some species of Megaphragma reaching less than 300 μm—among the smallest insects known. The family is distinguished by 3-segmented tarsi, paddle-shaped forewings fringed with marginal cilia, and a unique nervous system adaptation where adult neurons function without nuclei. Trichogrammatids are economically important as biological control agents, parasitizing eggs of Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, and Diptera.
Trjapitzinellus
Trjapitzinellus is a genus of parasitoid wasps in the family Encyrtidae, established by Viggiani in 1967. The genus is represented in major entomological collections, with specimens documented from India, Norway, and Sweden. The type species, Trjapitzinellus microrphanos Gordh, was described from material in the UCR Encyrtidae collection. Like other encyrtids, members of this genus are presumed to be parasitoids of scale insects or other Hemiptera, though specific host associations remain poorly documented.
Uropelma formosum
Uropelma formosum is a species of parasitic wasp in the family Eupelmidae, described by Sharkov in 1988. The genus Uropelma belongs to the chalcidoid wasp superfamily, a diverse group of tiny parasitoids. Distribution records indicate presence in Cuba (CU). The family Eupelmidae comprises species that are primarily parasitoids of insect eggs and larvae.
Walkerella
Walkerella is a genus of non-pollinating fig wasps in the family Pteromalidae, subfamily Otitesellinae. It is the most widely distributed genus within its subfamily, with species described from the Old World. Members are associated with Ficus fig trees, specifically species in subsection Conosycea of section Urostigma. Two new species were recently described from Xishuangbanna, China.
Zagrammosoma flavolineatum
Zagrammosoma flavolineatum is a species of chalcid wasp in the family Eulophidae, first described by Crawford in 1913. A revision of the genus Zagrammosoma synonymized Zagrammosoma mirum under this species. It is one of 26 recognized species in a genus characterized by distinctive striped or 'tattooed' color patterns. The species has been recorded from multiple localities in western North America and Hawaii.
Zagrammosoma interlineatum
Zagrammosoma interlineatum is a species of chalcid wasp in the family Eulophidae, elevated from synonymy in a 2021 revision of the genus. It belongs to a group of small parasitoid wasps commonly known as "tattooed wasps" for their distinctive body markings. The genus Zagrammosoma is worldwide in distribution and morphologically distinct from the related genus Cirrospilus. Species in this genus are generally associated with leaf-mining insects as hosts.
Zagrammosoma multilineatum
Zagrammosoma multilineatum is a small parasitoid wasp in the family Eulophidae, first described by Ashmead in 1888. It belongs to a genus of chalcidoid wasps known for their association with leaf-mining insects. The species has been recorded across multiple Canadian provinces, suggesting a broad northern distribution.
Zaomma
Zaomma is a genus of parasitoid wasps in the family Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea), established by Ashmead in 1900. The genus contains species that are parasitoids of scale insects, with Zaomma eriococci documented as a parasitoid of eriococcid scales. Specimens have been collected from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.