Psyllaephagus bliteus Riek

(Life: Kingdom: Metazoa (animals); Phylum: Arthropoda; Class: Hexapoda; Order: Hymenoptera; Superfamily: Chalcidoidea; Family: Encyrtidae; Subfamily: Encyrtinae; Genus: Psyllaephagus)

Psyllaephagus bliteus Riek, 1962. Holotype in: Type locality:

Psyllaephagus bliteus ovipositing into a Glycaspis brimblecombei nymph (Red Gum lerp psyllid), through the lerp (Bush et al. 2017).

Glycaspis brimblecombei is a sap-sucking psyllid. The nymphs build conical structures called lerps (image above) from a sugary wax secretion exuded during feeding (Bush et al. 2017).

Distribution	Australia, introduced to South Africa. Also introduced to the Neotropical and western Palaearctic regions (Bush et al. 2017).
Biology	Parasitoid of Glycaspis brimblecombei nymphs (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) (Red Gum lerp psyllid) (Daane et al. 2005).
References	Bush SJ, Slippers B, Neser S, Harney M, Dittrich-Schroder G & Hurley BP. 2016. Six recently recorded Australian insects associated with Eucalyptus in South Africa. African Entomology 24: 539 –544. http://dx.doi.org/10.4001/003.024.0539 Daane, KM, Sime, KR, Dahlsten, DL, Andrews JW Jr., Zuparko, RL. 2005. The biology of Psyllaephagus bliteus Riek (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), a parasitoid of the red gum lerp psyllid (Hemiptera: Psylloidea). Biological Control 32: 228-235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2004.09.015
Credits	Photographs © S.J. Bush (University of Pretoria).

Psyllaephagus bliteus Riek

Distribution

Australia, introduced to South Africa. Also introduced to the Neotropical and western Palaearctic regions (Bush et al. 2017).

Biology

References

Credits