page_title: Fairyfly
section_title: Collection and preservation
hierarchical_section_title: Fairyfly / Collection and preservation
caption_attribution_description: English: A picture of a Malaise trap, a type of trap used to capture insects for scientific study. Photo by Ceuthophilus.
context_page_description: The Mymaridae, commonly known as fairyflies or fairy wasps, are a family of chalcid wasps found in temperate and tropical regions throughout the world. The family contains around 100 genera with 1400 species.
  Fairyflies are very tiny insects, like most chalcid wasps, mostly ranging from 0.5 to 1.0 mm long. They include the world's smallest known insect, with a body length of only 0.139 mm, and the smallest known flying insect, only 0.15 mm long. They usually have nonmetallic black, brown, or yellow bodies. The antennae of the females are distinctively tipped by club-like segments, while male antennae are thread-like. Their wings are usually slender and possess long bristles, giving them a hairy or feathery appearance, although some species may have greatly reduced stubby wings or lack wings altogether. They can be distinguished from other chalcid wasps by the H-shaped pattern of sutures on the front of their heads.
  Fairyflies are some of the most common chalcid wasps, but are rarely noticed by humans because of their extremely small sizes. Their adult lifespans are very short, usually only a few days.
context_section_description: Despite their relative abundance, fairyflies are unpopular among modern insect collectors because of the great difficulty in collecting them. As one of the least known insect families, a large amount of information is still waiting to be discovered about fairyflies. This is an area of entomology where an amateur naturalist can still make significant contributions.
  In the 19th century, Curtis described the methods by which Haliday collected fairyflies as thus:
  The minute Hymenoptera are best collected by beating into, and sweeping with, a net made of fine gauze, and Mr. Haliday recommends me to collect them in quills, and afterwards to empty their contents into hot water, by which means their wings are naturally expanded; then by introducing a card under them to take them out of the water, arranging the legs and wings when necessary with a camel's hair pencil, and leaving them upon the card till they are dry, they may afterwards be taken off with a penknife, and gummed upon the points of small pieces of drawing- or card-paper of a long triangular form.
  — John Curtis, British Entomology Vol. 7 (1830)
  The best modern collection method is using Malaise traps. It requires little maintenance and can collect insects in great abundance. Other effective methods include yellow pan trapping, sweep nets, and suction trapping. Direct collection from leaf litter with Berlese funnels can also result in specimens that can not be collected by other means.
  Rearing is also another method that can bring the most rewards. This can be done with wild host eggs or laboratory-prepared host eggs that are exposed in suitable habitats outside. They can then be taken in after a sufficient amount of time has passed and examined for developing fairyflies. With this method, it is possible to observe the life history and determine the hosts of particular species of discovered fairyflies.
  Preservation is a problem for fairyflies (and other small chalcid wasps). Their tiny sizes require special methods. Specimens have to be dried, if collected wet, e.g. if ethyl alcohol is used as the killing agent. Drying can make specimens extremely brittle, so additional care should also be taken not to disintegrate them. Mounting specimens (preferably in permanent slides) is also time-consuming and requires a fair amount of practice. They are gummed or glued onto cards, as they can not be mounted on pins like larger insects.
caption: A Malaise trap
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