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 family Agaonidae is a group of pollinating and nonpollinating fig wasps. They spend their larval stage inside the fruits of figs. The pollinating wasps are the mutualistic partners of the fig trees. The non-pollinating fig wasps are parasitoids. Extinct forms from the Eocene and Miocene are nearly identical to modern forms, suggesting that the niche has been stable over geologic time.
Diplolepis is a genus of approximately fifty species of gall-inducing wasps in the family Diplolepididae. The larvae induce galls on wild roses (Rosa), and rarely on domestic roses.
Torymidae is a family of wasps in the superfamily Chalcidoidea. Most species in this family are small with attractive metallic coloration, and females generally have long ovipositors. Many are parasitoids on gall-forming insects, and some are phytophagous (plant-eating) species, sometimes using the galls formed by other insects. Over 960 species in about 70 genera are found worldwide. They are best recognized in that they are one of the few groups of Chalcidoidea in which the cerci are visible.
The Mymaridae, commonly known as fairyflies or fairy wasps, are a family of chalcidoid wasps found in temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions throughout the world. The family contains around 100 genera with 1,400 species.
The Mymarommatidae, sometimes referred to as false fairy wasps, are a very small family of microscopic parasitic wasps. Only about half of the known species are living taxa, but they are found worldwide.
Eupelmidae is a family of parasitic wasps in the superfamily Chalcidoidea. The larvae of the majority are primary parasitoids, commonly on beetle larvae, though many other hosts are attacked, including spiders. Details of the life history varies considerably. They are found throughout the world in virtually all habitats.
The Ormyridae are a small family of parasitic wasps in the superfamily Chalcidoidea. They are either parasitoids or hyperparasitoids on gall-forming insects, primarily cynipid wasps and tephritid flies. The 120 or so species are cosmopolitan, except almost entirely absent from South America.
Cynipini is a tribe of gall wasps. These insects induce galls in plants of the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. They are known commonly as the oak gall wasps. It is the largest cynipid tribe, with about 936 to 1000 recognized species, most of which are associated with oaks. The tribe is mainly native to the Holarctic.
Barucynips is a genus of gall wasp consisting of a single species described in 2013: Barucynips panamensis.
Sycophila is a genus of wasp that associates with figs and galls of various insects such as gall wasps and gall midges. They have a cosmopolitan distribution.
Euderus set, the crypt-keeper wasp, is a tiny chalcid wasp from the family Eulophidae from the United States, described in 2017 as a parasitoid of the gall wasp Bassettia pallida. The description of its life cycle has attracted widespread publicity.
Bassettia pallida is a species of gall wasp found in the Southern United States. This species was described by American entomologist William Harris Ashmead in 1896. B. pallida reproduces asexually in galls it induces on oak trees. The parasite Euderus set, a eulophid wasp, has B. pallida as a host and manipulates its behavior.
Psyllaephagus is a genus of chalcid wasps. It was named and circumscribed by William Harris Ashmead in 1900. As of 2019, Psyllaephagus contains approximately 245 species. They are found worldwide: Australia has 100 described species; the Palaearctic region has about 57 species, India has about 20, and Africa about 30.
Synergini is a tribe of gall wasps in the subfamily Cynipinae.
Phylloteras volutellae, the conical oak gall wasp, is a species of gall wasp , tribe Cynipini , found in North America.
Cheiloneurus paralia is a species of chalcid wasp in the family Encyrtidae. It is found in Europe. It is a parasitoid of mealybugs.
Pelecinellidae is a small family of chalcidoid wasps, formerly treated as the subfamily Leptofoeninae within Pteromalidae. They, like many small chalcidoids, are brilliantly metallic.
Lyciscidae is a family of chalcid wasps. The genera comprising this family were previously placed in the Cleonyminae subfamily of a paraphyletic Pteromalidae.
