Anisopteromalus calandrae (Howard) [=Pteromalus oryzae Cameron (1891), Neocatolaccus australiensis Girault (1913), Neocatolaccus indicus Ayyar & Mani (1937)]

Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae: Pteromalinae

Head and mesosoma bluish black; gaster brownish black; coxae concolorous with mesosoma; femora brown except distal part and remainder of the legs testaceous. Wings not fully covering metasoma, apical tergites of metasoma exposed. Head finely reticulate. Antenna with scape not reaching median ocellus; pronotal collar with sharp edge, not carinate. Gaster elongate, ovate, as long as or longer than head and mesosoma combined. Commonly associated with beetle pests of stored products.

   Antenna (left) and fore wing (right)

       Adult, dorsal view
     Adult, lateral view

Cosmopolitan. From India, it has been recorded from Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

Anisopteromalus calandrae is a well-known widespread parasite of beetles associated with stored grain cereals and pulses, especially wheat and rice. It is recorded from various hosts, namely, Stegobium paniceum (Linnnaeus), Sitophilus oryzae (Linnnaeus), Sitophilus granarius (Linnnaeus), Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), Athesapeuta cyperi Marshall, Oryzaephilus surinamensis (Linnaeus), Pempheruls affinis, Rhizopertha dominica (Fabricius), and Callosobruchus spp. In tropical countries, it occurs not only in mills and stores of grain but also outdoors, e.g. on bruchid beetles.