Taxonomic notes on Polynema eutettexi Girault (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) and a similar species reared as an egg parasitoid of Graphocephala atropunctata (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) in California

摘要

The mymarid Polynema sp. near eutettexi Girault was found to be the primary egg parasitoid of the blue-green sharpshooter, Graphocephala atropunctata (Signoret), in California. Indicated and illustrated are its morphological differences from P. eutettexi Girault, an egg parasitoid of the beet leafhopper, Neoaliturus tenellus (Baker). Host specificity studies revealed that female P. sp. near eutettexi would not parasitize eggs of the beet leafhopper under laboratory conditions, thus indicating an important biological difference that separates these two species of Polynema.