Universal Chalcidoidea Database

Notes on families

Ormyridae

Main diagnostic characters

1. Gaster never petiolate, highly convex and with characteristic coarse, pitted sculpture (100%)
2. Stigmal vein very short (although sometimes with stigma very enlarged) so that apex of uncus almost touches anterior margin of forewing (100%)
3. Petiole strongly transverse, not distinct (99%)
4. Female with ovipositor not or hardly exserted, exserted part much shorter than abdomen (100%)
5. Body generally not very elongate about 1.1-6.7mm in length (100%)

Included taxa

The family currently includes 3 genera and 125 species. No subfamily classification has been proposed.

(Ormyrus sp.)

Biology

Many species of ormyrid are parasitoids of various gall-forming insects. They are known to attack cecidogenic cynipids, chalcids and Diptera, and a few may also parasitize phytophagous eurytomids in seeds (Boucek, 1977; Nieves Aldrey, 1984). In the tropics some species are known to be parasitoids of the inhabitants of galls on figs (Boucek et al., 1981).

There is no published information on the immature stages or mode of parasitism of any ormyrid species, but it is probable that they will be found to resemble the parasitic species of Torymidae.

Identification

Hoffmeyer, 1930-31 (Danish species); Nikol'skaya, 1952 (Russian species) [Both include all British species.]; Doganlar, 1991 (key to genera).

References

Boucek, Z. 1977. A faunistic review of the Yugoslavian Chalcidoidea (Parasitic Hymenoptera). Acta entomologica Jugoslavica 13(Supplement):1-145.

Boucek, Z.; Watsham, A.; Wiebes, J.T. 1981. The fig wasp fauna of the receptacles of Ficus thonningii (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea). Tijdschr.Ent. 124:149-233.

Doganlar, M. 1991. Systematic positions of some taxa in Ormyridae and descriptions of a new species in Ormyrus from Turkey and a new genus in the family (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea). Türk. entomol. derg. 15(1):1-13.

Hoffmeyer, E.B. 1930. Beiträge zur Kenntnis der dänischen Callimomiden, mit Bestimmungsrabellen der europäischen Arten. (Hym. Chalc.) (Slutning). Entomologiske Meddelelser 17:232-260.

Hoffmeyer, E.B. 1931. Beiträge zur Kenntnis der dänischen callimomiden, mit Bestimmungstabellen der europäischen Arten. (Hym., Chalc.) (Callimomidenstudien 5.). ). Entomologiske Meddelelser 17:261-285.

Nieves Aldrey, J.L. 1984. First data on the representatives of the family Ormyridae in Spain, with the description of a new species (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea). Graellsia 40:119-128.

Nikol'skaya, M. 1952. Chalcids of the fauna of the USSR (Chalcidoidea). Opredeliteli po Faune SSSR, Izdavaemie Zoologicheskim Institutom Akademii Nauk SSR 44:575pp. Akademiya Nauk SSSR, Moscow and Leningrad. (In Russian; English translation: 1963: Israeli Prog. for Scient. Transl., Jerusalem 593 pp).

Last updated 07-Jun-2004 Dr B R Pitkin