Scutellista is a genus of chalcid wasps. They are parasitoids of scale insects.
Description The scutellum projects as a roof over about two-thirds of the gaster. The mesoscutum and scutellum have with many scattered short hairs, rather than pairs of strong bristles.Xiao, H., & Huang, D. W. (2001). A review of Eunotinae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae) from China. Journal of Natural History, 35(11), 1587-1605. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/002229301317092342
Taxonomy The genus Scutellista includes the following species: Scutellista aenea Kurdjumov, 1912; found in Ukraine. Scutellista caerulea (Fonscolombe, 1832), a parasitoid of many scale insect species (Coccoidea); it has been introduced into many countries as a biological control agent, and has a world-wide distribution. Scutellista gigantea Berlese, 1916, a parasitoid of the scale insect Ceroplastes mimosae; found in Eritrea. Scutellista hayati (Farooqi, 1981), a parasitoid of Cerococcus, a scale insect; found in India Scutellista hispanica (Masi, 1931); found in Croatia and Spain. Scutellista nigra Mercet, 1910, a parasitoid of scale insects; found in Algeria, Croatia, Egypt, Greece, and Spain. Scutellista obscura (Foerster, 1878), a parasitoid of scale insects; found in the Palearctic. Scutellista ovivora (Ishii, 1928), a parasitoid of Lecanium, a scale insect; found in Japan.
References