Pteromalidae II

The family Pteromalidae (Order: Hymenoptera) is a highly diverse group of parasitoid wasps belonging to the Chalcidoidea superfamily. The Pteromalidae are distinguished from other members of the superfamily as having five segmented tarsi and none of the other defining characteristics that segretate other family members, often times making them difficult to identify. Variability is extreme in this group. They typically have metallic bodies ranging anywhere in size from 1-48mm with body shape ranging from slender to broad. This variability extends into the groups ecological roles with representivives that are solitary and gregarious, ectoparasitic, endoparasitic, parasitoids, hyperparasitoids or in some cases even predators. Most are idiobionts, which prevent further development of the host after parasitization. There are more than 3400 species described from about 640 genera distributed all over the world; systematically speaking, it is likely that the group is polyphyletic. Please assist us in transcribing the UHIM's Pteromalid collection in order to help us better understand this groups distribution and impact. The total number of tasks for this dataset is: 427, number transcribed is 427 and number validated is 0. This data resource is harvested periodically into the main occurrence index.