Scientific name

Cryptanusia albiclava Girault

Taxonomic position

Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Encyrtidae: Tetracneminae

Diagnosis

Female: Length 1.29-1.67 mm. Head and thorax orange; a brown stripe more or less connecting each torulus to eye margin; mesoscutum clothed in conspicuous silvery white setae; scape pale to dark orange with extreme apex white; funicle pale yellowish orange to dark brown; clava white, dusky proximally; legs yellow to orange; fore wings weakly infuscate with base and apex hyaline; hind wing hyaline; gaster yellow orange to orange brown; F1 and F2 subequal in length; fore wing with submarginal vein strongly bent downwards subapically and stigmal vein longer than marginal (Noyes and Hayat, 1994).

Image

Adult  Yercaud Adult - dorsal & lateral view

Hosts / Biology

Pseudococcus citriculus (Gordh, 1974); Pseudococcus sp. on indet. orchid (Tachikawa, 1968).

References

  • Gordh, G. 1974. A new species of Anusoidea Girault, 1926 (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) from the Philippines parasitizing Pseudococcus citriculus Green (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae). Journal of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa, 37: 203-206.
  • Noyes, J.S. and Hayat, M. 1994. Oriental Mealybug Parasitoids of the Anagyrini (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae). CAB International, Wallingford. Oxon. Viii+554p.
  • Tachikawa, T. 1968. Discovery of the genus Anusioidea (sic) Girault from Asia (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Encyrtidae). Transactions of the Shikoku Entomological Society, 9: 117-118.

Credits

Factsheet prepared by Dr. A. Rameshkumar, Research associate, NPIB, NBAIR.