May 2018
Return to introduction
1 Scape length less than 2.7x width ……………………………………………….…. longipennis
1’ Scape length at least 3.0x width ……………….………………………………….………….. 2
2(1) Legs (except mid and hind coxae) all yellow; ovipositor elongated ………………….… sp. 2
2’ Legs mostly dark, ovipositor not extending beyond metasoma apex …………………………. 3
3(2) Postmarginal vein shorter than stigmal vein ………………………………………. hedqvisti
3’ Postmarginal equal to or longer than stigmal vein ……………………………………………. 4
4(3) Postmarginal vein longer (1.2-1.7x) than marginal vein …………………………………… 5
4’ Postmarginal vein subequal to marginal vein ………………………………………………… 6
5(4) Postmarginal vein 1.5-1.7x longer than marginal vein; antennal club bluntly rounded at tip or distinctly truncate, scape maximally broadened apically ……………….. sp. nr. britannica
5’ Postmarginal vein 1.2-1.4x longer than marginal vein; antennal club distinctly narrowly at tip; scape maximally broadened medially or basally …………..……………………… americana
6(4) Coarse setae on scutum; F1 length > width; scape length 3.0x width; middle of mid tibia with distinct lightened patch …………………………………………..…………….. turanica
6’ Scutal setae not so coarse; F1 quadrate; scape length 3-4x width; middle of mid tibia not, or only slightly lightened ……………………………………………….…………………… sp. 1
Sp. 1. Reduced setae on scutum, scape length ~3-4 x width, F1 ~ quadrate, MV short, middle of mid tibia not so lightened, OP short, fore coxa dark; Colusa (CSCA)
Sp. 2. Reduced setae on scutum, scape length ~ 4x width, F1 L>W, MV punctiform, legs (except mid and hind coxae) all yellow, ovipositor long; San Bernardino, San Diego (CSCA, UCR)
Described Nearctic species and distribution
americana Sugonjaev, 1983: USA (CA, VA)
britannica Girault, 1917: CAN (BC); USA (CA)
hedqvisti Sugonjaev, 1964: USA (CA)
longipennis Howard, 1881: CAN (BC, ON, QU); USA (CA, DC, IA, MA, MI, MN, NM, NY,TX, WI)
sericea (Dalman, 1820): ?USA
turanica Sugonjaev, Y.S. 1964: USA (CA)
Remarks
Blastothrix sericea is a Palearctic species, which was reported established in British Columbia in the late 1920s, but Sugonjaev (1983) reports that this was a misidentification of B. britannica. Subsequent reports of B. sericea from the Pacific Northwest and northern California are probably referable to B. britannica or B. americana. In 1939, a species then identified as B. sericea was released in California in a biocontrol effort against Parthenolecanium corni (Bouché), but that species evidently never established (Bartlett, 1978: 62-63). Ashmead (1900: 390) reported B. sericea from North America, but he may have been referring to B. longipennis, which he placed as a junior synonym. Slosson (1906: 323), Simanton (1916: 66) and Viereck (1916: 502) reported B. sericea from the northeastern United States early in the 20th century: these records may represent an adventitive New World establishment of B. sericea, but I suspect they were misidentifications. The presence of B. turanica in California is a new record for the state, country and bioregion – previously it had only a Palearctic distribution. I referred to this species as “sp. 1” in my previous version of the key.
References
Ashmead, W. H. 1900. On the genera of the chalcid-flies belonging to the subfamily Encyrtinae. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 22: 323-412.
Bartlett, B.R. 1978. Coccidae. Pp. 57-74 in Clausen, C.P. (ed.). Introduced parasites and predators of arthropod pests and weeds: a world review. United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Handbook 480: 545 pp.
Dalman, J.W. 1820. Försök till Uppställning af Insect-familjen Pteromalini, I synnerhet med afseen de på de I Sverige funne Arter (Fortsättning). Kungliga Svenska Vetenskapsakademiens Handlingar 41: 123-174, 177-182, 340-385.
Girault, A.A. 1917. Descriptiones Hymenopterorum Chalcidoidicarum variorum cum
observationibus V. Private publication, Glenndale, Maryland, 10 pp.
Howard, L.O. 1881. Report of the parasites of Coccidae in the collections of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture Part III. In: Comstock, J.H. (Ed.), Report of the entomologist
for 1880. United States Department of Agriculture (Entomology), Washington, pp. 350-
372.
Simanton, F.L. 1916. The terrapin scale: an important insect enemy of peach orchards. Bulletin Slosson, A.T. 1906. Additional list of insects taken in alpine region of Mt. Washington. Entomological News 17: 323-326.of the United States Department of Agriculture 351: 96pp.
Slosson, A.T. 1906. Additional list of insects taken in alpine region of Mt. Washington. Entomological News 17: 323-326.
Sugonjaev, Y.S. 1964. Palearctic species of the genus Blastothrix Mayr (Hymenoptera,
Chalcidoidea) with remarks on their biology and economic importance. Part 1.
Entomologicheskoe Obozrenie 43: 368-390.
Sugonjaev, Y.S. 1983. A review of the genus Blastothrix Mayr (Hymenoptera, Encyrtidae) in
North America. Entomologicheskoe Obozrenie 62: 601-609.
Viereck, H.L. 1916. Guide to the Insects of Connecticut. Part III. The Hymenoptera, or wasp-like insects of Connecticut. State of Connecticut State Geological and Natural History Survey Bulletin 22: 824 pp.