Timberlake 1926 : 15
Annotated Checklist of California Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera)
Zuparko, Robert L.
Zootaxa
2015
4017
1
1
126
4WXJ
Timberlake 1926
Timberlake
1926
[151,528,762,788]
Insecta
Encyrtidae
Hexacnemus
Animalia
Hymenoptera
30
31
Arthropoda
genus
armitagei Timberlake 1926: 15
Type. USNM
Distribution.N (Lake, Ventura) Host/habitat. Sympherobius californicus, S. sp.
Remarks.Gordh (1979) noted that H. armitageihas also been reported to parasitize mealybugs on citrus, probably based on a specimen from Florida (USNM) that has “Mealybug, citrus” on the collecting label. Sympherobiusis predacious on mealybugs, and I suspect this is a mistaken host record, and the true host was an unrecognized hemerobiid. Noyes (2001)reported that a record of the genus from South America(where it putatively attacked Aleurothrixus floccosusand Planococcus citri) was in error. In fact, Parker et al.(1953)reported an Argentinean Hexacnemussp. “ex material” of these two species, noting that the parasites were reared “in grosso modo” from lots of material, and that the precise role of the parasite is not available. I have seen a male specimen (USNM) of this parasitoid from Argentina, and it is definitely a Hexacnemusspecies, although I am unable to determine if it is conspecific with H. armitagei. Additionally, the USNM has a female and male Hexacnemussp., reared in association with nymphs of Phenacoccus gossypii, apparently from Columbia(CIAT- Palmira), that appear to represent an undescribed species of this genus.