Encyrtidae is a large family of parasitic wasps, with some 3710 described species in some 455 genera. The larvae of the majority are primary parasitoids on Hemiptera, though other hosts are attacked, and details of the life history can be variable (e.g., some attack eggs, some attack larvae, and others are hyperparasites). They are found throughout the world in virtually all habitats, and are extremely important as biological control agents. The term parasitic wasp refers to a large, artificial assemblage of Hymenopteran superfamilies which are primarily parasitoids of other animals, mostly other arthropods. ... A larva (Latin; plural larvae) is a juvenile form of animal with indirect development, undergoing metamorphosis (for example, insects or amphibians). ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Suborders Heteroptera Homoptera Hemiptera is an order of insects, comprising some 67,500 known species in two suborders, Heteroptera and Homoptera. ... Biological control of pests and diseases Overview A key belief of the organic gardener is that diversity furthers health. ...

Some species exhibit a remarkable developmental phenomenon called "polyembryony", in which a single egg multiplies clonally in the host and produces large numbers of identical adult wasps. Even more remarkably, some of the larvae are larger than the others and act similar to the "soldiers" of eusocial insects, attacking any other wasp larvae already in the body of the host, and dying without reproducing ("altruism"). Eusociality is the phenomenon of reproductive specialisation found in some species of animal, whereby a specialised caste carries out reproduction in a colony of non-reproductive animals. ... Altruism is the practice of placing others before oneself. ...

They are relatively easy to separate from other Chalcidoidea by features of the wing venation, the migration of the cerci forwards on the metasoma (and accompanying distortion of the tergites), and a greatly enlarged acropleuron with anteriorly-positioned mesocoxae. Chalcidoidea is a superfamily of Hymenoptera There are nineteen families Agaonidae Walker, 1846 Aphelinidae Thomson, 1876 Chalcididae Latreille, 1817 Encyrtidae Walker, 1837 Eucharitidae Latreille, 1809 Eulophidae (including Elasmidae) Westwood, 1829 Eupelmidae Walker, 1833 Eurytomidae Walker, 1832 Leucospidae Fabricius, 1775 Mymaridae Haliday, 1833 Ormyridae Forster, 1856 Perilampidae Latreille, 1809 Pteromalidae Dalman... Cercus (plural cerci) is the scientific word for certain hair-like sensory structures on some types of insects. ... Scorpion anatomy: 1 = Prosoma; 2 = Mesosoma; 3 = Metasoma The metasoma is clearly visible on this ant: it is the posterior section, including the petiole The metasoma is the posterior part of the body, or tagma, of arthropods whose body is composed of three parts, the other two being the prosoma... A tergum (pl. ...

External links

• Universal Chalcidoidea Database