Scientific name

Cephaleta australiensis (Howard, 1896)

Taxonomic position

Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae

Diagnosis

Head, mesosoma and metasoma shiny metallic black, antenna dark brown, scape yellowish brown, legs yellowish brown except all coxae black, last tarsal segment dark brown, first pair of legs slightly darker. Head much wider than mesosoma, vertex sharply angulate behind ocelli, posterior ocellus touching hind margin of vertex. Antennal formula 11143 in female; male antenna 9 segmented, all funicular segments longer than broad, first one curved and longer than scape. Mesosoma shiny with complete notauli. Scutellum with silvery white hairs in apical third, apically slightly produced over propodeum. Hind corners of propodeum forming a sharp straight vertical edge with an angular tooth dorsally.

 Female - antenna
 Mesosoma & metasoma - dorsal view

Images

   Male & female adult - lateral view

Distribution

Cosmopolitan. India: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa, Assam, Maharashtra). Occur in Oriental and Nearctic region.

Biology / Hosts

Coccoidea (Sternorrhyncha) including Coccus spp., Ceroplastes spp., Saissetia spp., Drepanococcus chiton, Pulvinaria psidii (Coccidae); Cerococcus indicus (Cerococcidae); Ferrisia virgata (Pseudococcidae) and Asterolecaniidae (Xiao & Huang, 2001).

References

  • Narendran, T.C. and Mini, T.V. 2000. A review of the genera of Oriental Eunotinae (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae). Journal of the Zoological Society of Kerala, 8&9: 15-28.
  • Noyes, J.S. 2012. Universal Chalcidoidea Database. World Wide Web electronic publication. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/chalcidoids.
  • Sureshan, P.M. 2003. Pteromalinae (Pteromalidae: Chalcidoidea: Hymenoptera) of Indian subcontinent. Records of the Zoological Survey of India, Occasional Paper 205: iii+170pp.
  • Sureshan, P.M. 2012. Checklist of Pteromalidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) of India. ZSI, Western Ghats regional centre, Kozhikode, Kerala. 15pp.
  • Xiao, H. and Huang, D.W. 2001. A review of Eunotinae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae) from China. Journal of Natural History, 35: 1587-1605.