Aenasius advena Compere

Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Encyrtidae: Tetracneminae

Female: Head bright metallic green, distinctly bronzy around anterior ocellus; pronotum violet to bluish black, much brighter than mesoscutum, axillae and scutellum, sides bluish violet-purplish; abdomen dark metallic; legs black except tarsi testaceous; apex of scape and F1-4 brownish. Forewings infuscate on basal half, hyaline near apex. Head crescent-shaped in normal position, frontovertex vertically inclined, occiput strongly concave, acutely angled at the vertex. Antenna (Figs. 2, 3) with pedicel nearly twice as long as broad, funicle six-segmented, F1-4 pale testaceous yellow, contrasting with dark F5, F6 and club. Frontovertex (Fig. 1) about one-fifth of head width or less with distinct piliferous punctures of a thimble-like appearance. Mesoscutum without notaular lines. Submarginal and marginal veins (Fig. 4) separated by a distinct hyaline break, marginal vein not touching wing margin; stigmal vein slightly swollen apically, longer than marginal and postmarginal veins.

 Fig. 1. Head, frontal view
   Figs. 2, 3. Female antenna
 Fig. 4. Forewing venation

Male: Head with greenish-blue tinge, rest of the body blackish, tarsi dirty white to brown, wings hyaline. Antenna (Fig. 5) with long, basally curved club, funicle segments transverse with distal 2-3 segments incomplete and received in a deep cavity at base of club.

 Fig. 5. Male antenna

   Female, dorsal and lateral view
       Adult female, dorsal view
     Adult male, dorsal and lateral views

Widely distributed and nearly cosmopolitan in the old world tropics; Neotropical region. India: Andaman & Nicobar Islands; Delhi; Goa; Gujarat; Karnataka; Kerala; Madhya Pradesh; Maharashtra; Punjab; Tamil Nadu; Uttaranchal; Uttar Pradesh (Hayat, 2006).

Parasitic on several species of mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) like Ferrisia virgata (Cockerell), Planococcus citri Risso, etc. occurring on on coffee, cashew, hibiscus, cotton, citrus, guava, etc. (Hayat, 2006).

• Compere, 1937. The species of Aenasius, encyrtid parasites of mealybugs. Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society, 9: 383-404.
• Hayat, M. 2006. Indian Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea). Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University. 496 p.