Description of the male of Psyllaephagus euphyllurae (Masi) (Hymenoptera, Encyrtidae), a parasitoid of the olive psylla, Euphyllura olivina (Costa) (Hemiptera, Liviidae), with notes on its reproductive traits and hyperparasitoids

Abstract

A colony of the encyrtid wasp Psyllaephagus euphyllurae (Masi) (Hymenoptera, Encyrtidae) has been established in the quarantine laboratory at the University of California, Riverside, California, USA as part of a classical biological control program against its invasive host, the olive psylla, Euphyllura olivina (Costa) (Hemiptera, Psylloidea, Liviidae), an important pest of olives in some parts of the world. The colony originators were reared from the same host found on abandoned, commercial olives in Catalonia, Spain; additional collections were made in Murcia. The parasitoid reproduces primarily by thelytoky; however, a few occasional males have been found in the field in Spain, but not in colonies reared under quarantine or laboratory conditions. Here, the female of P. euphyllurae is redescribed and its male is described and illustrated for the first time; the only previous mention of male P. euphyllurae was from Tunisia, reared from the same psyllid host but without any details on its morphology. A lectotype is designated for Encyrtus euphyllurae Masi. Information is given on the results of genetic matching between the two sexes of the parasitoid and also on the presence of the bacterial Wolbachia symbiont that apparently is affecting reproduction of this species, including its sex ratio in the field. Two species of hyperparasitoids have also emerged from the parasitized olive psylla nymphs from Catalonia: numerous specimens of Apocharips trapezoidea (Hartig) (Hymenoptera, Figitidae) and one specimen of a Pachyneuron sp. (Hymenoptera, Pteromalidae).

Keywords

• Encyrtidae, Psyllaephagus euphyllurae, host association, Liviidae, olive psylla, Euphyllura olivina, classical biological control, taxonomy, Spain, Apocharips trapezoidea, Pachyneuron sp.