TRICHOGRAMMATID

any of the tiny parasitic chalcid insects of the family Trichogrammatidae (order Hymenoptera), particularly those of the genus Trichogramma. Adults of Trichogramma species are less than one millimetre long, with pear-shaped wings having a single vein and fringing hairs; the three-segmented tarsi are distinctive. Trichogramma larvae parasitize the eggs of moths (order Lepidoptera) and may therefore act as biological control agents. T. minutum, which is readily cultured in the laboratory, has been successfully employed against various lepidopteran agricultural pests.