Ageniaspis citricola Logvinovskaya

(Insecta: Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae)

Ageniaspis citricola is a host-specific endoparasitoid of the citrus leafminer, Phyllocnistis citrella.

The minute adult wasps are up to 0.8 mm long, black and covered with fine silvery hairs. Their tarsi and antennae are yellowish brown. The elliptical pupae are usually linked in a chain of two to eight pupae.

Females lay up to 10 eggs into an egg or a young larva of the host. The parasitized host, carrying the parasitoid larvae, will continue to develop within the leaf tissue, form a pupal cell, and then die. Upon the host’s death, Ageniaspis citricola larvae pupate and emerge as adults by chewing an exit hole into the silky pupal chamber.

This parasitoid occurs in humid tropical and subtropical regions and was originally described from Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan.

In the 1990s, Ageniaspis citricola was introduced to Florida in a classical biological control program against citrus leafminer. Introduced strains originated from Australia (introduced) and Taiwan. To date, this parasitoid is established throughout Florida and effectively parasitizes citrus leafminer populations.

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Ageniaspis citricola Logvinovskaya developing inside a pupal cell of citrus leafminer, Phyllocnistis citrella

(Photographer: James Castner, University of Florida)

Adult Ageniaspis citricola Logvinovskaya emerging from a pupal cell of citrus leafminer, Phyllocnistis citrella

(Photographer: James Castner, University of Florida)