Recognizing the Good Bugs in Cotton - Texas Is Cotton Country ...

Stink Bug Egg
Parasites
Family Scelionidae:Telenomus species
Trissolcus species
Characteristics: These are tiny (1/20-2/20
inch), shiny black wasps with antennae that
are elbowed downward. The wings have very
little venation. The shape of the body varies
from slender and somewhat flattened top to
bottom, to short and very stout. These parasites
are found throughout the Cotton Belt.
Hosts: These wasps parasitize eggs of different
stink bug species, including predaceous
stink bugs in some cases. The species of stink
bug attacked depends on the parasite species.
Some attack many species of stink bugs while
others parasitize only a few species. Trissolcus
basalis is an important parasite of the southern
green stink bug which can be a pest of
cotton.
General Biology: The parasite females lay
their eggs in the eggs of the stink bug, usually
only one parasite egg per host egg. A single
wasp develops in each egg. Parasitized stink
bug eggs turn black within a few days of parasitism.
The adult parasite emerges from the
egg about 8-20 days after the parasite egg is
placed in the stink bug egg. Adult parasites
live about 2-6 weeks and can parasitize from
30 to over 100 stink bug eggs in a lifetime.
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