Gyranusoidea indica Shafee, Alam and Agarwal

(Insecta: Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae)

Gyranusoidea indica is a parasitoid of pink hibiscus mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green).

Adult wasps closely resemble a related species, Anagyrus kamali. They are at most 2 mm long and orange with a grayish abdomen. Antennae of male wasps carry numerous, long sensilla.

Females lay eggs into nymphs of the host, and hatching larvae complete their development and pupate within the mummified nymphs. Emerging adults exit the mummy through an emergence hole.

Gyranusoidea indica was imported in the mid-1990s from Egypt, Pakistan and Australia to the Caribbean as part of a biological control program targeting pink hibiscus mealybug. In 1999, introductions and releases were conducted in California. Along with Anagyrus kamali, this parasitoid species has effectively controlled host populations in the Caribbean and in California.

Images 

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Lateral view of female wasps of Gyranusoidea indica Shafee, Alam and Agarwal on its host, pink hibiscus mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus

(Photographer: Lyle Buss, University of Florida)

Three female wasps of Gyranusoidea indica Shafee, Alam and Agarwal examining an infestation by pink hibiscus mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus

(Photographer: Lyle Buss, University of Florida)

Male (top) and female (bottom) wasps of Gyranusoidea indica Shafee, Alam and Agarwal on pink hibiscus mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus, hosts

(Photographer: Lyle Buss, University of Florida)

Dorsal view of male wasps of Gyranusoidea indica Shafee, Alam and Agarwal examining on its host, pink hibiscus mealybug, Maconellicoccus hirsutus

(Photographer: Lyle Buss, University of Florida)