Low-antennae Psyllid Wasp
Size 1mm. I could only see this wasp on a photo I took of an egg mass. It is really minute but such a beauty. The best discoveries are the ones that continue a story and link with other animals. This wasp was found on our lemon tree. It is probably a parasite of a Psyllid. Coincidence that I found one such animal a few days ago? Coincidence that it seemed attached to a silk, exactly what I read about the habit of how this type of wasp ties its victim? The antennae lie low in its face, are bent and is ending in a big club. Its abdomen is yellow which makes it almost invisible and contrasting to its black, slightly blueish shimmering thorax. I call this wasp Low-antennae Psyllid Wasp for now. The antennae seem quite different to Tamarixia radiata though. See http://cisr.ucr.edu/blog/mark-hoddle/has-the-asian-citrus-psyllid-parasitoid-tamarixia-radiata-established-in-california/ for an interesting story about the US importing such wasps. They don't show as represented in the US by GBIF. Update 12/11/2016: The young wasps have finally hatched. Actually, they did so in numbers. They also did so about 2 or 3 days after their prey hatched. They are not psyllids as assumed but acutally some hopper species that looks completely yellow except for their red eyes. This fact might change the identification of this wasp. In one of the pictures you can see a parasited hopper hull next to a baby wasp. The baby wasps all looked in the same direction, namely upwards. Amazing timing with hatching. It makes sense that their prey get a head start.
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