Ophelimus maskelli

TaxID: 981031

Basic Information

Ophelimus maskelli

Eucalyptus Gall Wasp

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 (from Vietnam to Indonesia), 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. In Australia and Israel members of the genus of fairy wasps, Stethynium, were being investigated in 2006 as possible biological control agents for Ophelimus maskelli. Releases of three parasitoids in Israel were successful in greatly reducing the numbers of O. maskelli, though only two of these parasitoids - Closterocerus chamaeleon (Eulophidae), and Stethynium ophelimi (Mymaridae) - subsequently proliferated and spread through the Mediterranean Basin, where they have proven to be excellent biological control agents.

from Wikipedia

Taxonomic Information

Metazoa

Arthropoda

Insecta

Hymenoptera

Eulophidae

Ophelimus

maskelli

unclassified

Photos (5 photos)

Ophelimus maskelli
c
(c) dlbowls@BY-NC
Ophelimus maskelli
c
(c) James Bailey@BY-NC
Ophelimus maskelli
c
(c) Rebecca Marschall@BY-NC
Ophelimus maskelli
c
(c) Michele Jones@BY
Ophelimus maskelli
c
(c) Timothy Eric Robinson@BY-NC

Morphological Features

No morphological description available.

Host Plants (1 host plants)

Data sources: EPPO Global Database and relevant literature.

Scientific Name Status
Eucalyptus Host

Quarantine Status (3 records)

Data sources: IPPC website and national quarantine websites; verified by human review.

Country Status Year Added
Chile A1 list 2019
Peru Absent —
Uruguay Absent —

Distribution (39 countries)

Data Sources: EPPO Global Database and GBIF.

37
Present
2
Absent
0
Unknown/Other
Country Status State
Algeria Present —
Argentina Present —
Australia Present
Belgium Present —
Chile Present —
China Present
Cyprus Present —
Egypt Present —
Spain Present
Ethiopia Present —
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Distribution Map (Latitude and longitude coordinates sourced from GBIF.)

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Genomes (0 records)

Data source: NCBI.

No genome records available.

Transcriptomes (0 records)

Data source: NCBI.

No transcriptome records available.

DNA Barcodes (0 records)

View all

Data source: BOLD.

No DNA barcode records available.

Literature