Revealing the smaller hemipterans and their parasitoids
This project focus on small-bodied Hemiptera from the so called Sternorrhyncha group, which includes whiteflies (Aleyrodoidea), aphids (Aphidoidea), scale insects (Coccoidea), pine and spruce aphids (Phylloxeroidea) and psyllids (Psylloidea), and the parasitic Hymenoptera associated with these groups.
Eleven different families of Hymenoptera from five superfamilies, i.e. Chalcidoidea, Cynipoidea, Ceraphronoidea, Platygastroidea and Ichneumonoidea are known to attack these and the aim is to bring up new information about species composition and biology about these taxa. The families are Encyrtidae (target family), Aphelinidae (target family), Signiphoridae, Eulophidae, Pteromalidae, Mymaridae, Platygasteridae, Figitidae, Megaspilidae, Ceraphronidae and the subfamily Aphidiinae (Braconidae). About 200 species not previously recorded from Norway are expected to be found, including 5-10 undescribed species. These are mainly parasitic Hymenoptera, but some «new species» among the hosts may also be recognized, in particular among Coccoidea.
Project leader: Geir Söli, University of Oslo Natural History Museum
Project period: January 2013 – June 2015
Collaborators: Agricultural University of Georgia and Norwegian entomological society
Figur 1 a+b. Scale insects can occur in major crowds on bark. I average do each of the host species have 3-4 parasites each.
Figur 2. Capidosoma longicaudata is a large parasite belonging to the family Encyrtidae wich is the focus familiy of the project. The species were described January 2013 as a preface of the project. The speciemens came from the Dokka delta in Søndre Land municipal and Losby in Lørenskog municipal.