Smallest insect
- Who
- Nanosellini, Ptiliidae
- What
- 0.25 millimetre(s)
- Where
- Not Applicable
- When
- Not Applicable
The smallest insects are the “feather-winged” beetles of the family Ptiliidae (or Trichopterygidae) and the taxonomic tribe Nanosellini, measuring 0.25 mm (0.01 in). Some of these minute insects, such as Scydosella musawasensis, live inside the spore tubes on the underside of shelf fungi (Polyporaceae).
The battledore-wing fairy flies (parasitic wasps) of the family Mymaridae are smaller than some species of protozoa (single-celled animals). There are approximately over 400 known species of Ptiliidae beetles worldwide. The name 'featherwing beetles' comes from the fact that their wings are formed by a stalk attached to a long membrane bordered by many hairs. These beetles are so small that if a standard Bic pen measuring 140.5 mm (5.6 in) were filled with them, it would contain 560 specimens! Due to their minute size these beetles hardly have any eyes or have none at all.