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.
Taxonomy
The genus Scutellista includes the following species:
- Scutellista aenea <small>Kurdjumov, 1912</small>; found in Ukraine.
- Scutellista caerulea <small>(Fonscolombe, 1832)</small>, 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 <small>Berlese, 1916</small>, a parasitoid of the scale insect Ceroplastes mimosae; found in Eritrea.
- Scutellista hayati <small>(Farooqi, 1981)</small>, a parasitoid of Cerococcus, a scale insect; found in India
- Scutellista hispanica <small>(Masi, 1931)</small>; found in Croatia and Spain.
- Scutellista nigra <small>Mercet, 1910</small>, a parasitoid of scale insects; found in Algeria, Croatia, Egypt, Greece, and Spain.
- Scutellista obscura <small>(Foerster, 1878)</small>, a parasitoid of scale insects; found in the Palearctic.
- Scutellista ovivora <small>(Ishii, 1928)</small>, a parasitoid of Lecanium, a scale insect; found in Japan.
References