The Mymarommatidae, sometimes referred to as False fairy wasps. are a very small family of microscopic hymenopteran insects. Only about half of the known species are living taxa, but they are known from all parts of the world. Undoubtedly, many more await discovery, as they are easily overlooked and difficult to study due to their extremely small size. Virtually nothing is known about the biology of these insects, but because of their size, and simple ovipositors, entomologists assume they are idiobiont parasitoids on the eggs of various insects. Psocoptera have been suggested as likely hosts based on circumstantial evidence. They were originally treated as an aberrant subfamily of the chalcidoid family Mymaridae but because of morphological differences, are now usually considered in their own superfamily, Mymarommatoidea, and their similarity to Mymaridae is thought to be a result of parallel evolution. Mymarommatids are distinguished by the presence of a pleated membrane connecting the front and back halves of the head extending from the mandible to the top of the head, which is presumably expanded by muscle or hydrostatic pressure, likely to aid in breaking open the walls of the egg capsule. Specimens are often found in leaf litter and are rare, but occasionally appear in significant numbers.
Classification
As taxonomists have examined this group more closely, they have become less certain about which other group of wasps represents the nearest living relatives of the Mymarommatidae. In recent years, some have claimed the nearest relatives are the extinct family Serphitidae, and therefore claim the Mymarommatidae are essentially "living fossils", the sole surviving lineage of an otherwise extinct superfamily Serphitoidea. It remains to be seen whether this change in classification will be accepted, but it has some significant support. Paleomymar is known a single species from Eocene aged Baltic amber, while Archaeromma is known from 10 species spread across Laurasia during the Cretaceous dating from the Albian to the Campanian. A species of Mymaromella, M. duerrenfeldi is known from Miocene amber in Sicily. Mymaromma has 5 described species: M. anomalum, M. buyckxi, M. goethei, M. mirissimum and M. ypt. Indeterminate specimens have been reported across Eurasia, North America, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Mymaromella has 5 described extant species: M. chaoi, M. cyclopterus, M. mira, M. pala and M. palella. Indeterminate specimens are known from Africa, South America, North America, Europe, East Asia and Australia. Zealaromma has two species: Z. insulare and Z. valentinei. Both taxa are known from New Zealand.
