CHALCID

any member of the more than 25,000 species of the superfamily Chalcidoidea, a large group of rather small, widely distributed insects of the order Hymenoptera. The average size is about 2 to 3 millimetres (0.08 to 0.12 inch). Chalcids are usually black or yellow with transparent wings. The adults feed on plant nectar or on the fluids from the wounds of animals. The larvae of most species are parasitic on insects that are pests of food crops; thus, they are beneficial to man. The Chalcidoidea are divided into about 19 families, chief among which are the Mymaridae (fairyfly), Trichogrammatidae, Eulophidae, Encyrtidae, Eupelmidae, Perilampidae, Agaonidae (fig wasp, q.v.), Torymidae, Pteromalidae, Eurytomidae (seed chalcid), and Chalcididae. Some of the Leucospidae, largest of the chalcids, reach 15 mm in length.