Scientific name

Tamarixia radiata (Waterston)

Taxonomic position

Insecta: Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Eulophidae: Tetrastichinae

Diagnosis

Female: Head and thorax (mesosoma) black, shiny. Thorax with distinct notaular lines, two pairs of adnotaular setae present, both suberect and of almost equal length; scutellum distinctly transverse, with conspicuous submedian grooves. Abdomen / gaster short, with a large yellowish subbasal area, lateral and posterior areas black. Fore wing broad. Legs pale yellowish except tips of tarsi darker brown.

Male: Similar to female, but with smaller yellowish patch on abdomen. Antenna with long latero-terminal bristles.

A parasitoid of Asian citrus psylla, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae).

Images

   Adult female - dorsal and lateral view
 Adult male - dorsal view

Distribution

Widely distributed in Asia, including India (Karnataka; Kerala; Tamil Nadu). Introduced in the USA.

Hosts / Biology

A parasitoid of Diaphorina citri on host plants including curry leaf and Citrus spp. and is commonly collected. Other psyllid hosts include Pallipsylla hyalina (Mathur), Trioza erytreae, Trioza sp. (Zuparko et al., 2011).

Native to the Indian region (India, Pakistan). Imported into Reunion, Saudi Arabia, Mauritius, Nepal, Taiwan, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, USA (Florida, Texas), Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico for the biological control of Diaphorina citri (Zuparko et al., 2011).

Reference

  • Qureshi, J.A., Rogers, M.E., Hall, D.G., and Stansly, P.A. 2009. Incidence of invasive Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) and its introduced parasitoid Tamarixia radiata (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) in Florida citrus. Journal of Economic Entomology, 102(1): 247-256.
  • Waterhouse, D.F. 1998. Biological control of insect pests - Southeast Asian prospects. ACIAR, Canberra. 548 pp+viii.
  • Zuparko, R.L., De Queiroz, D.L., and La Salle, J. 2011. Two new species of Tamarixia (Hymenoptera) from Chile and Australia, established as biological control agents of invasive psyllids (Hemiptera: Calophyidae, Triozidae) in California. Zootaxa, 2921: 13-27.