Scientific name

Lakshaphagus fusiscapus (Agarwal)

Taxonomic position

Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Encyrtidae: Encyrtinae

Diagnosis

Female: Head and thorax yellow to orange; gaster dark brown; F1-3 brownish, F4-6 whitish, clava brown; scutellum in apical third with a few, short, scale-like setae and a pair of longer scale-like setae at apex; fore wing with parastigma with a triangular expansion; fore wing uniformly infuscate; facial impression bordered above and on sides with a sharp ridge.

   Head and thorax - dorsal, lateral view

Image

 Adult - dorsal view

Distribution

India: Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh (Hayat, 2006 & Noyes, 2013).

Hosts / Biology

Cerococcus sp. on Tephrosia sp. (Hayat et al., 1975); C. ornatus on Coffee (Chacko et al., 1978); Ceroplastodes sp. on Rhynchosia minima (Hayat et al., 1975); Planococcus citri on Citrus medica or Coccus viridis on Althea rosea (Agarwal, 1965); cerococcid on cotton (Fatima & Shafee, 1994).

References

  • Agarwal, M.M. 1965. Taxonomy of encyrtid parasites (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) of Indian Coccoidea. Acta Hymenopterologica, Fukuoka, 2: 37-97.
  • Chacko, M.J., Singh, M.B.D. and Rao, L.V.A. 1978. Further observations on Cerococcus ormatus infesting coffee and records of its parasites. Journal of Coffee Research, 8: 83-85.
  • Hayat, M. 2006. Indian Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea). viii +496pp. Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University, India.
  • Hayat, M., Alam, S.M. and Agarwal, M.M. 1975. Taxonomic survey of encyrtid parasites (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) in India. Aligarh Mulslim University Publications (Zoological Series) on Indian Insect Types, 9: i-iii. 1-112.
  • Noyes, J.S. 2012 Universal Chalcidoidea Database. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.nhm.ac.uk/entomology/chalcidoids/index.html (accessed 03rd May, 2013).