Signiphoridae

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Hymenopterida
Ordo: Hymenoptera
Subordo: Apocrita
Superfamilia: Chalcidoidea

Familia: Signiphoridae
Genera (5): Chartocerus – Clytina – Signiphora – Thusamus – Thysanus
Source(s) of checklist:
Name

Signiphoridae Howard, 1894

References

Howard, L.O. 1894. Two parasites of important scale-insects. Insect life 7: 5–8. BHL. Reference page.
Hayat, M. 2009: A review of the Indian Signiphoridae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea). Biosystematica, 3(2): 5–27. ISSN: 0973-7871 (online) ISSN: 0973-9955 (print)
Schmidt, S., Hamid, H., Ubaidillah, R., Ward, S. & Polaszek, A. 2019. A review of the Indonesian species of the family Signiphoridae (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea), with description of three new species. ZooKeys, 897: 29–47. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.897.38148 Open access Reference page.
Woolley, J.B. 1988: Phylogeny and classification of the Signiphoridae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea). Systematic entomology, 13: 465–501. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3113.1988.tb00256.x
Woolley, J.B. & Molin, A.D. 2017. Taxonomic revision of the flavopalliata species group of Signiphora (Hymenoptera: Signiphoridae). Zootaxa 4315(1): 1–150. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4315.1.1. Full article (PDF) ISBN 978-1-77670-214-5 (paperback); ISBN 978-1-77670-215-2 (Online edition) Reference page.

Signiphoridae (historically also known as Thysanidae) is a small family of parasitic wasps in the superfamily Chalcidoidea. The roughly 80 species are placed in four genera.

Diagnosis

The Signiphoridae range in size from 0.2 to 1.5 mm (7.9 to 59.1 thou). They are usually black, brown, or yellowish, occasionally with salmon pink or white details, but never metallic. Cuticle sculpturing is very light when compared to families such as the Eurytomidae or Chalcididae.

The main diagnostic characteristics are:

The metasoma is sessile (no "wasp waist"); the propodeum has a medium triangular zone.
The antennal club is long, unsegmented, and preceded by one to four ring-like segments ("annelli").
The wings have medium to long marginal setae, short postmarginal and stigmal veins, and no, one or two setae on the membrane.

Habitat

Chartocerus and Thysanus have cosmopolitan distributions. The only formal record for Clytina is from Eastern Europe. Signiphora, which represents more than half of the known species, is primarily Neotropical.
Biology

Most species have been reared in association with scale insects, mealybugs, aphids, psyllids and flies (chamaemyiids, gall-making chloropids, and drosophilid predators of scale insects.[1] They can be either parasitoids or hyperparasitoids. While parasitoids contribute to control populations of other insects, hyperparasitoids can disrupt systems under biological control.[2]
Systematics and classification

Woolley[3] made several changes in the classification at genus and species level after a phylogenetic analysis of the family. The available generic names in this group are Signiphora Ashmead, Thysanus Walker, Chartocerus Motschulsky, Clytina Erdös, Neosigniphora Rust, Kerrichiella Rozanov, Rozanoviella Subba Rao, Xana Kurdjumov, Matritia Mercet, Signiphorina Nikol'skaya and Neocales Risbec. The four last names are under synonymy or considered as subgenera in Chartocerus. Rozanoviella and Kerrichiella are synonymized under Signiphora. Neosigniphora is synonymized under Thysanus. Hence, currently only four genera are valid. Subfamilies are not recognized.

Signiphoridae are believed to be most closely related to azotine aphelinids.[4]
References

Woolley, J. B. & Hanson, P. E. (2006). Familia Signiphoridae. In: Hanson, P. E. & Gauld, I. D. (Eds.) Hymenoptera de la Región Neotropical. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 77:422-425.
Sullivan, D. J (1987). Insect hyperparasitism. Annual Review of Entomology 32:49-70. doi:10.1146/annurev.en.32.010187.000405 pp. 62-63
Woolley, J. B. (1988). Phylogeny and classification of the Signiphoridae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea). Systematic Entomology 13:465-501. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.1988.tb00256.x
Woolley, J. B. (1988). Phylogeny and classification of the Signiphoridae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea). Systematic Entomology 13:465-501. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.1988.tb00256.x