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HYMENOPTERA, Signiphoridae (Walker 1840) = (Thysanidae) - (Chalcidoidea) -- <Images> & <Juveniles> Signiphoridae Signiphoridae. (Thysanidae)
-- These are small, thick-bodied chalcids that attack
scale insects, whiteflies, and other Homoptera or are hyperparasitoids of the
chalcids that attack Homoptera.
Signiphoridae range in size from 0.22 to 1.7 mm. Their color varies from black to salmon
pink or white, but they are not metallic.
Sculpturing of the cuticleis is sparce compared to families
Chalcididae and Eurytomidae..
The principal characteristics are a sessile Metasoma (thread-waist absent),
the propodeum has a medium triangular zone, the club of the antennae are long
and unsegmented and they are preceded
by 1-4 ring-like annelli. The wings
are fringed with medium to long setae, and there are short post-marginal and
stigmal veins. Setae are very sparce on the wing membrane.
The genera Chartocerus and Thysanus are cosmopolitan,
while Clytina has been reported only from Eastern Europe. The Neotropical genus Signiphora
has more than half of the known species. Most species have been recovered
from scale insects, aphids, mealybugs, psyllids and chloropid and drosophilid
predatory flies of scale insects (Woolley & Hanson, 2006). They function
either as parasitoids or hyperparasitoids. While the parasitoids are useful
in biological control, the hyperparasitoids are considered harmful (Sullivan,
1987). = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = =
References: Please refer to
<biology.ref.htm>, [Additional references may be
found at: MELVYL Library] Clausen, C.
P. 1924.
Univ. Calif. Publ. Tech. Bull. 3:
253-88. Girault, A. A.
1913. A systematic monograph
of the chalcidoid Hymenoptera of the family Signiphorinae. Proc. U. S.
Nat. Mus. 45: 189-233. Hayat, M. & B. R. Subba-Rao. 1988.
Family Signiphoridae. In: B. R. Subba-Rao, & M. Hayat (eds.), Oriental Insects, Vol.
19. Association For The Study of
Oriental. Insects, Gainesville, FL. 329
p. Prinsloo, G. L. 1980. An illustrated
guide to the families of African Chalcidoidea (Insecta: Hymenoptera). Rep. So. Africa, Dept. Agr. &
Fisheries Sci. Bull. 395. 66 p. Quezada, J.
R. 1967.
Master of Science Thesis, Department of Entomology, University of
California, Riverside. 98 p. Quezada,
J., R., P. DeBach & D. Rosen. 1973. Biological and taxonomic studies of Signiphora borinquensis new species (Hymenoptera: Signiphoridae), a
primary parasite of diaspine scales. Hilgardia 41(18):
543-604. Rosanov,
I. 1965.
Review of the genera of parasitic Hymenoptera of the family
Signiphoridae (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea).
Rev. d'Ent. U.S.S.R. 44:
508-15, 866-84. Subba Rao, B. R. 1974. The genera of
Signiphoridae (Hymenoptera) with descriptions of a new genus. Bull. Ent. Res. 64: 525-31. Sullivan,
D. J. 1987. Insect
hyperparasitism. Annual Review of Entomology 32:49-70. Trjapitcyn, V. A. 1978/1987. Family
Signiphoridae (Thysanidae) (Signiphorids).
In: G. S. Medvedev (ed.) 1987, Keys to the
Insects of the European Part of the USSR. Vol. 3 Hymenoptera, Pt. 2. Akad. Nauk.,
Zool. Inst., Leningrad, SSSR. (trans. fr. Russian, Amerind. Publ. Co.,
Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi). 1341 p. Woolley,
J.B. 1988. Phylogeny and classification of the Signiphoridae (Hymenoptera:
Chalcidoidea). Systematic Entomology 13:465-501. DOI. Woolley, J. B.
& P. E. Hanson. 2006. Familia Signiphoridae. In: Hanson, P.
E. & Gauld, I. D. (Eds.) Hymenoptera de la Región Neotropical. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 77:422-425. Yoshimoto,
C. M. 1984.
The Insects and Arachnids of Canada. Part 12. The Families and Subfamilies of Canadian
Chalcidoid Wasps, Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea.
Biosystematics Res. Inst., Ottawa, Ontario, Res. Br. Agr. Canada Publ. 1760.
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