| Ophelimus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| galls caused by Ophelimus maskelli on Eucalyptus sp | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Eulophidae |
| Subfamily: | Opheliminae |
| Genus: | Ophelimus Haliday, 1844 [1] |
| Type species | |
| Ophelimus ursidus (Walker, 1839) | |
| Species | |
53 species [2] | |
Ophelimus is a genus of hymenopteran insects of the family Eulophidae. Members of this genus induce galls on Eucalyptus plants. [2]
Eucalyptus is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of Eucalyptus are trees, often mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including Corymbia and Angophora, they are commonly known as eucalypts or "gum trees". Plants in the genus Eucalyptus have bark that is either smooth, fibrous, hard, or stringy and leaves that have oil glands. The sepals and petals are fused to form a "cap" or operculum over the stamens, hence the name from Greek eû ("well") and kaluptós ("covered"). The fruit is a woody capsule commonly referred to as a "gumnut".
Scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient grouping than the superfamily Coccoidea due to taxonomic uncertainties. Adult females typically have soft bodies and no limbs, and are concealed underneath domed scales, extruding quantities of wax for protection. Some species are hermaphroditic, with a combined ovotestis instead of separate ovaries and testes. Males, in the species where they occur, have legs and sometimes wings, and resemble small flies. Scale insects are herbivores, piercing plant tissues with their mouthparts and remaining in one place, feeding on sap. The excess fluid they imbibe is secreted as honeydew on which sooty mold tends to grow. The insects often have a mutualistic relationship with ants, which feed on the honeydew and protect them from predators. There are about 8,000 described species.
Casuarina, also known as she-oak, Australian pine and native pine, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Casuarinaceae, and is native to Australia, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and eastern Africa.
Eucalyptus oil is the generic name for distilled oil from the leaves of Eucalyptus, a genus of the plant family Myrtaceae, mostly native to Australia but cultivated worldwide. Eucalyptus oil has a history of wide application, as a pharmaceutical, antiseptic, repellent, flavouring and fragrance, as well as having industrial uses. The leaves of selected Eucalyptus species are steam distilled to extract eucalyptus oil.
The Eulophidae is a large family of hymenopteran insects, with over 4,300 described species in some 300 genera. The family includes the genus Elasmus, which used to be treated as a separate family, "Elasmidae", and is now treated as a subfamily of Eulophidae. These minute insects are challenging to study, as they deteriorate rapidly after death unless extreme care is taken, making identification of most museum specimens difficult. The larvae of very few species feed on plants, but the majority are primary parasitoids on a huge range of arthropods at all stages of development. They are exceptional in that they are one of two hymenopteran families with some species that are known to parasitize thrips. Eulophids are found throughout the world in virtually all habitats.
Corymbia citriodora, commonly known as lemon-scented gum and other common names, is a species of tall tree that is endemic to north-eastern Australia. It has smooth white to pink bark, narrow lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three, white flowers and urn-shaped or barrel-shaped fruit.
Kiggaella is a genus of hymenopteran insects belonging to the family Eulophidae. There is just one described species, Kiggaella oryzae, only known from rice paddies in Karnataka and Kerala states, India.
Ctenomorpha marginipennis, the margin-winged stick insect, is a species of stick insect endemic to southern Australia. The species was first described by George Robert Gray in 1833, then placed in the genus Didymuria by Kirby in 1904. It was subsequently accepted as "Ctenomorpha chronus ".
Horismenus is a genus of hymenopteran insects of the family Eulophidae occurring primarily in the Americas. As of 2015 over 400 species in the genus have been described. Horismenus species are often described as parasitizing other insects.
Kokandia is a monotypic genus of hymenopteran insects of the family Eulophidae. The only known species Kokandia salsolicola is a parasitoid of gall midges belonging to the family Cecidomyiidae which use plants of the goosefoot genus Salsola as hosts.
Leptocybe invasa, the blue gum chalcid wasp or eucalyptus gall wasp, is a chalcid wasp which is the only species in the monotypic genus Leptocybe in the subfamily Tetrastichinae, of the family Eulophidae. It is a gall wasp which causes the formation of galls on a number of species of Eucalyptus, it was described in 2004 after galls were found in river red gums in the Mediterranean and Middle East and has since been found to be a widespread species where its host trees are planted. It is indigenous to Australia.
Omphale is a genus of hymenopteran insects of the family Eulophidae. It has cosmopolitan distribution.
Quadrastichus is a genus of hymenopteran insects of the family Eulophidae.
Tetrastichus is a genus of hymenopteran insects of the family Eulophidae.
Ophelimus maskelli is a species of chalcid wasp about 1mm long, known as the eucalyptus gall wasp, indigenous to Australia and New Zealand, and invasive in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, North Africa, South Africa, tropical Asia, and the United States (California). It is considered a plant pest as females lay eggs on immature eucalyptus leaves; the larvae produce galls on the leaves. Heavy infestations induce much galling which causes widespread defoliation and loss of growth. Wasps may emerge in large numbers in the spring, forming clouds which are a nuisance to humans.
Tetrastichinae is a subfamily of the chalcid wasp family Eulophidae. It is one of the largest subfamilies of the Eulophidae containing over 100 genera and nearly 3,000 species. The species of the family Tetrastichinae are found in almost any type of terrestrial habitat and have a worldwide distribution, except Antarctica. They show a varied biology and hosts for Tetrastichinae wasps have been identified from over 100 different insect families, across 10 different orders and they have also been recorded as being parasitoids on nematodes, mites and spiders' eggs. Some species are even phytophagous, while others are inquilines and yet others are gall formers.
Epichrysocharis burwelli, the lemon scent eucalyptus gall wasp, is a species of gall wasp from the family Eulophidae which was first described from California in 2000 but which is thought to have originated in Australia, where its host plant is indigenous. It is now found in many areas of the World where its host plant, the lemon-scented eucalyptus Corymbia citriodora is grown.
Leprosa milga is a species of Afrotropical wasp in the family Eulophidae, the only member of the genus Leprosa. It is a gall wasp which induces the production of galls on the seed pods of species in the genus Eucalyptus. It probably originated in Australia but has been recorded from South Africa and Italy.
Selitrichodes is a genus of hymenopteran insects of the family Eulophidae, most of which are parasitoids associated with gall producing insects on Eucalyptus.
Arastichus is a genus of hymenopteran insects of the family Eulophidae. It is only known from the neotropics. At least one of the three known species induces galls on plants in the family Araceae.
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