Brachymeria incerta (Cresson)

(Insecta: Hymenoptera: Chalcididae)

Brachymeria incerta is a pupal parasitoid of oleander caterpillar, Syntomeida epilais Walker, and other lepidopteran species.

Adult female wasps are 5 to 7 mm long, and the males are smaller, 3.5 to 5 mm long. Both are black with creamy white legs, and their hind femora are characteristically enlarged.

Females lay eggs into the host pupa. Hatching larvae feed on host tissues and develop within the pupa. In the laboratory, the life cycle can be completed in about one month.

Brachymeria incerta occurs throughout Florida and also has been reported from the West Indies, Guyana, Cuba and Brazil.

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Adult female of Brachymeria incerta (Cresson) examining a pupa of oleander caterpillar, Syntomeida epilais

(Photographer: James Castner, University of Florida)