Biology and behavior of Metaphycus angustifrons Compere (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), a newly discovered parasitoid of soft scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccidae) in California

Abstract Metaphycus angustifrons Compere has recently been found to be the most abundant parasitoid of brown soft scale, Coccus hesperidum L., in southern California. In laboratory experiments we examined several biological parameters of this species. M. angustifrons both oviposits and host feeds in brown soft scale and is a facultatively gregarious endoparasitoid of this soft scale insect. In contrast with other Metaphycus spp., M. angustifrons is a koinobiont parasitoid, allowing its host to grow up to 40% beyond its size at parasitism. Despite its high abundance on brown soft scale in the field, in the laboratory, high rates of parasitoid egg encapsulation are observed; about half of par…