Chalcid wasps are insects within the superfamily Chalcidoidea, part of the order Hymenoptera. The superfamily contains some 22,500 known species, and an estimated total diversity of more than 500,000 species, meaning the vast majority have yet to be discovered and described. The name "chalcid" is often confused with the name "chalcidid", though the latter refers strictly to one constituent family, the Chalcididae, rather than the superfamily as a whole; accordingly, most recent publications (e.g.,) use the name "chalcidoid" when referring to members of the superfamily.
The Leucospidae are a specialized group of wasps within the superfamily Chalcidoidea, that are ectoparasitoids of aculeate wasps or bees. They are typically mimics of bees or stinging wasps, often black with yellow, red, or white markings, sometimes metallic, with a robust mesosoma and very strong sculpturing. The hind femora are often greatly enlarged, with a row of teeth or serrations along the lower margin as in Chalcididae. The wing has a longitudinal fold. The female ovipositor is sometimes short, but if not, it is recurved and lies along the dorsal side of the metasoma, a unique feature. The males are also unusual, in the fusion of many of the metasomal segments to form a capsule-like "carapace".
The Eurytomidae are a family within the superfamily Chalcidoidea.
Odopoia is a genus of wasps in the family Torymidae, containing the following species:
Heydenia is a genus of wasps in the family Pteromalidae. They are parasitoids of bark beetles.
Megastigmus is a genus of minute wasps. There are more than 134 described species, more than half of which undergo larval development within the seeds of trees and shrubs.
Cleonymus is a genus of wasps in the family Cleonymidae.
Zdeněk Bouček was a Czech entomologist specialising in the Chalcidoidea superfamily of the Hymenoptera. With Marcus Graham and Richard Askew, Bouček was one of the most important workers studying this large and diverse group in the second half of the Twentieth Century and these three laid the foundations of the modern systematics of the chalcid wasps.
Eulophinae is a subfamily of wasps in the family Eulophidae which includes over 90 genera.
Strejcekia is a genus of parasitoid wasps in the subfamily Pteromalinae.
Macroglenes is a genus of chalcidoid wasps in the family Pirenidae. There are at least 20 described species in Macroglenes.
Eucharitinae is a subfamily of chalcid wasps in the family Eucharitidae.
Lariophaugus is a genus of hymenopteran parasitoids in the family Pteromalidae. The genus was described by American entomologist and taxonomist James Chamberlain Crawford, with the type species Lariophagus texanus.
Trichomalus is a genus of parasitoid wasps belonging to the family Pteromalidae.
Marina Dmitrievna Zerova was a Ukrainian entomologist. Several insects have been named after her. She became Doctor of Biological Sciences (1980), Professor (1989) and Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine (2003). In 1981 she was awarded the Award of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine named after DK Zabolotny.
Neapterolelaps is a genus of Hymenoptera belonging to the family Pteromalidae. They are diurnal.
Plutarchia is a genus of chalcid wasp in the subfamily Eurytominae. Alexandre Arsène Girault first circumscribed the genus in 1925; its name honors Plutarch. The genus initially only comprised its type species, P. bicarinativentris, found in Australia. Subsequent species from South Asia and Nigeria have been described and transferred to Plutarchia.
Doddifoenus is a genus of wasps in the family Pelecinellidae. They are parasitoids of wood-boring beetles.
Pelecinellidae is a small family of chalcidoid wasps, formerly treated as the subfamily Leptofoeninae within Pteromalidae. They, like many small chalcidoids, are brilliantly metallic.
Ceidae is a small family of chalcid wasps, previously classified as subfamily Ceinae, in the polyphyletic family Pteromalidae. These wasps are parasitoids of other small insects. Hosts are known only for Cea pulicaris and Spalangiopelta alata.
