Megastigmidae

Megastigmidae
Megastigmus, Bulgaria
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Suborder: Apocrita
Infraorder: Proctotrupomorpha
Superfamily: Chalcidoidea
Family: Megastigmidae
Thomson, 1876

Megastigmidae is a family of chalcidoid wasps in the order Hymenoptera. There are about 12 genera and more than 170 described species in Megastigmidae. Megastigmidae was formerly considered a subfamily of the family Torymidae.[1][2][3][4]

Morphology

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Most megastigmids range in colour from yellow to brown.[5] However, some may feature patches of metallic green.

Megastigmids can generally be recognized among other Chalcidoidea by the presence of an enlarged stigma on the wing, often with an infuscate area around the stigma.[5] They can be confused for Torymidae, within which they were formerly nested, due to their similar range in body sizes, and the long excised ovipositor in females. However, the presence of this enlarged stigma and the presence of 6 flagellomeres between the pedicel and clava (instead of 8 in Torymidae) separate the megastigmids.

Ecology

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Larval megastigmids show a wide variety of life history strategies. Some species are phytophagous, while others are parasitoids. Many species oviposit in galls, in which some species are parasitoids of the gall host, while others are inquilines.[6][5]

Genera

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References

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  1. ^ Janšta, Petr; Cruaud, Astrid; Delvare, Gérard; Genson, Guénaëlle; et al. (2018). "Torymidae (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea) revised: molecular phylogeny, circumscription and reclassification of the family with discussion of its biogeography and evolution of life-history traits" (PDF). Cladistics. 34 (6): 627–651. doi:10.1111/cla.12228. PMID 34706481.
  2. ^ "Megastigmidae". GBIF. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  3. ^ Noyes, J.S. (2018). "Universal Chalcidoidea Database". Natural History Museum, London. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  4. ^ Aguiar, A.P.; Deans, A.R.; Engel, M.S.; Forshage, M.; et al. (2013). Zhang, Zhi-Qiang (ed.). "Order Hymenoptera. In: Zhang Z-Q (ed) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classif. and survey of taxonomic richness (Addenda 2013)". Zootaxa. 3703 (1). doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3703.1.12. ISBN 978-1-86977-849-1.
  5. ^ a b c Rasplus, Jean-Yves; Böhmová, Julia; A. Burks, Roger; Nieves-Aldrey, José-Luis; Cruaud, Astrid; Janšta, Petr (2025-03-25), "Megastigmidae", Chalcidoidea of the World, CABI Books, pp. 465–478, doi:10.1079/9781800623545.0040, ISBN 978-1-80062-352-1, retrieved 2025-08-21
  6. ^ "Article: An annotated catalog of world Megastigminae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Torymidae)". mbd-db.osu.edu. Retrieved 2025-08-21.