Neochrysocharis formosa

Neochrysocharis formosa (Westwood)

Taxonomic placing: Insecta, Holometabola, Hymenoptera, Apocrita, Chalcidoidea, Eulophidae.

Morphology: Body about 1.5 mm long, its metallic bluish-black color is especially prominent on the strongly reticulated thorax. The wings are almost devoid of venation, antennae short, with mostly dark segments.

Geographic distribution: Neochrysocharis formosa is now known from all continents except Australia

Hosts: Neochrysocharis formosa is an endoparasitoid that attacks more than 100 host species in 4 different orders (Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera) and may also kill by host feeding. Agromyzidae are the preferred hosts and it may occasionally be a hyperparasite.

Life history: Neochrysocharis formosa usually attacks the eggs or larvae of many leaf mining and gall forming insects. It prevents their further development and emerges from the host in its last larval stage, to pupate externally. It completes a generation in about a fortnight, produces about 200 offspring/female and lives for about 3 weeks at 22°C.

Economic importance: Neochrysocharis formosa is considered an important control agent of several leafminers, such as the pestiferous Liriomyza trifolii. At 25°C it kills more host (agromyzid) maggots by host feeding than by parasitization.

Effect of pesticides: Imidacloprid and an insect growth regulator repelled N. Formosa from bean leaves infested by Liriomyza trifolii and thus reduced its host searching efficiency.

References

Arakaki, N. and Kinjo, K. 1998. Notes on the parasitoid fauna of the serpentine leafminer Liriomyza trifolii (Burgess) (Diptera: Agromyzidae) in Okinawa, Southern Japan. Applied Entomology and Zoology 33: 577–581.

Chien, C.C. and Ku, S.C. 2001. Appearance and life history of Neochrysocharis Formosa (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). Formosan Entomology 21: 383–393.

Çikma, E., Sungur Civelek, H. and Yildirim, E.M. 2011. Effects of spinosad on Liriomyza cicerina (Rondani, 1875) (Diptera: Agromyzidae) and its parasitoids in chickpea. Turkisg Entomological Bulletin 1: 71-77.

Fisher, N. and La Salle, J. 2005. A new species of Neochrysocharis Kurdjumov (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), a parasitoid of serpentine leafminers (Diptera: Agromyzidae) in Southeast Asia. Zootaxa 1044: 27–34.

Moon, H.C. (and 7 co-authors). 2004. Oviposition and host feeding characteristics of Neochrysocharis Formosa (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), an endoparasitoid of Liriomyza. Trifolii (Diptera: Agromyzidae). Korean Journal of Applied Entomology 43: 21-26.

Saleh, A., Allawi, T.F. and Ghabeish, I. 2010. Mass rearing of Neochrysocharis formosa (Westwood) (Eulophidae: Hymenoptera), a parasitoid of leafminers (Agromyzidae: Diptera). Journal of Pest Science 83: 59-67.

Tran, D.H., Takagi, M. and Takasu, K. 2004. Effects of selective insecticides on host searching and oviposition behavior of Neochrysocharis formosa (Westwood) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), a larval parasitoid of the American serpentine leafminer. Applied Entomology and Zoology 39: 435-441.

Yefremova, Z., Kravchenko, V., Strakhova, I. and, Yegorenkova, E. 2013. Use of the Malaise trap to assess the biodiversity of parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) in Israel. Israel Journal of Entomology 43: 81-89.

Website https://www.google.co.il/search?q=neochrysocharis+formosa++image&biw=1280&bih=687&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiXl4_dxvrPAhVH5xoKHTvLDPAQsAQIGQ&dpr=1.5