Biology and ecology of Anagrus takeyanus (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae), an egg parasitoid of the azalea lace bug (Heteroptera: Tingidae)

Abstract

Mean duration of development of the parasitoid Anagrus takeyanus Gordh in the eggs of the tingid Stephanitis pyrioides (Scott) was 36.7, 26.1, and 16.4 d at 21, 24, and 27°C, respectively. The average lifespan of A. takeyanus adults provided with honey water solution as 1.35, 1.07, and 0.88 d at 21, 24, and 27°C, respectively, and <1 d at all 3 temperatures when given water only. Male A. takeyanus occurred rarely and emerged from host eggs <2 d later than females. The male wasp, previously unreported, has 13 antennal segments; antennae of female wasps have 9 segments. There were 5 emergence peaks in 1992 and 1993 in the Georgia Piedmont. A takeyanus emerged from overwintering S. pyrioides eggs synchronously with or slightly later than its host in 1992 and synchronously with or earlier than its host in 1993. Parasitism of S. pyrioides eggs averaged 19, 18, and 17% at 3 sites in the Georgia Piedmont in 1992, and 14.9, and 7% in 1993. Parasitism of S. pyrioides eggs by A. takeyanus was widespread in Georgia and also was detected in Alabama, North Carolina, and Florida.