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Abstract
Aphelinidae and Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) were surveyed for presence of a specialized ventroapical mandibular tooth that is formed through modification of a seta into a stout socketed spine. An almost identical tooth is found in a homologous position in Coccophaginae (Aphelinidae), Eriaphytinae (Aphelinidae), Calesinae (Aphelinidae or incertae sedis), and Habrolepidini (Encyrtidae), but nowhere else within Chalcidoidea. Although the tooth represents a synapomorphy for genera within each of these higher taxa, it appears to be independently derived on the basis of other morphological and biochemical evidence. Observations of Comperiella bifasciata and Encarsia sp. nr. perniciosi emerging from California Red Scale show that the tooth is used for shearing off pieces of the mummified host remains and the scale cover during formation of the exit hole. The tooth occurs in both sexes, and in taxa with a broad host range such as Encarsia, which attack both armoured scales and whiteflies. Problems associated with character homology, function and phylogeny are discussed.