| Kikiki huna | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| General information | |||
| Universe | Real Life | ||
| Classification | Kikiki huna | ||
| Species type | Fairyfly | ||
| Homeworld | Earth | ||
| Environment | Costa Rica; Hawai'i; Nagarcoil, India; Trinidad | ||
| Intelligence | Non-sapient | ||
| Biochemistry | Carbon-based lifeform | ||
| Discovered | 2000 | ||
| Discoverer | John T. Huber and John W. Beardsley | ||
| Biological information | |||
| Reproduction | Sexual; lays eggs | ||
| Average length | 0.15 mm (0.0059 in) (150 μm) | ||
| Locomotion | Powered flight | ||
| Distinctive features | Smallest known flying insect | ||
| Lineage information | |||
| Related species | Tinkerbella | ||
| Cultural information | |||
| Alignment | True Neutral | ||
| Personality | Parasitic | ||
| Organization | Solitary (presumed) | ||
| Sociocultral characteristics | |||
| Scientific taxonomy | |||
| Planet | Earth | ||
| Domain | Eukaryota (Complex life) | ||
| Kingdom | Animalia (Animals) | ||
| Subkingdom | Eumetazoa | ||
| Infrakingdom | Bilateria | ||
| Superphylum | Ecdysozoa | ||
| Phylum | Arthropoda (Arthropods) | ||
| Subphylum | Hexapoda (Hexapods) | ||
| Class | Insecta (Insects) | ||
| Subclass | Pterygota (Winged insects) | ||
| Infraclass | Neoptera (Winged insects that can flex their wings over their abdomens) | ||
| Superorder | Hymenopterida | ||
| Order | Hymenoptera (Ants, bees, sawflies, wasps) | ||
| Suborder | Apocrita (Ants, bees, wasps) | ||
| Infraorder | Proctotrupomorpha | ||
| Superfamily | Chalcidoidea (Chalcid Wasps) | ||
| Family | Mymaridae (Fairyflies) | ||
| Genus | Kikiki | ||
| Species | huna | ||
| Other information | |||
| First sighting | 1997 | ||
| Last sighting | Current | ||
Kikiki huna is a species of fairyfly found in Costa Rica; Hawai'i; Nagarcoil, India; and Trinidad. As of 2019, it is the smallest known flying insect species. They are closely related to Tinkerbella.
Etymology[]
The binominal name "Kikiki huna" is made up of two Hawai'ian words, each meaning "tiny bit".
Physiology[]
D. echmepterygis are a species of parasitoid idiobiont that exhibit strong sexual dimorphism. Females have an average boy length of 550 μm, but males only have a length 40% of the females, instead having a body length between 139 to 240 μm, averaging 186 μm. Males are in fact smaller than certain species of single-celled amoebas and paramecia. Males are blind and wingless, and never leave the egg, which are laid on the eggs of the barklouse Echmepteryx hageni. Each egg contains at least one male and one female, though around 1/5th have a 3:1 male/female ratio.
This action is similar to other members of the chalcid wasps like Prestwichia aquatica.