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Encyrtid Wasps (Encyrtidae)
Photo#519102
Copyright © 2011
Charley Eiseman
Parasitoid of Disholcaspis quercusglobulus
Butter Hill Wildlife Sanctuary, Pelham, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA
Size: 0.7 mm
On 5/22/2011, I found this dead in the bag containing this gall
from which this wasp had emerged on 4/24/11:
Images of this individual:
tag all
Contributed by
Charley Eiseman
on 22 May, 2011 - 9:14pm
Last updated 23 May, 2011 - 7:30am
Moved
Moved from
"Parasitica" (parasitic Apocrita)
.
Thanks! It must be a hyperparasitoid, because the gall had been in a sealed bag since Dec. 30 and this is the first time I noticed it--I've been checking the bag more or less daily, but had just been away for three days, so I think it emerged and died during that time. I didn't see a new exit hole, so I think it either emerged from the torymid's exit hole or maybe emerged at the base of the gall where it would be hard to discern a tiny hole. It's possible, also, that it emerged at the same time that the torymid did, and took me a whole month to notice, but I think this is very unlikely.
There aren't any encyrtids listed
here
, but I suppose a hyperparisitoid would only be listed under the parasitoid it's parasitizing, rather than under the parasitoid's host.
…
Charley Eiseman
, 23 May, 2011 - 7:30am
Encyrtid…
These particular galls are known to secrete a sugary substance that may have attracted the encrytid looking for some quick energy, but this is just speculation at this point. There are recorded encyrtid hyperparasitoids of other chalcids such as pteromalids or other encyrtids through different hosts. Did you find any other insects in the bag or gall?
See reference
here.
…
Ross Hill
, 22 May, 2011 - 10:42pm