Paratelenomus anu Rajmohana, Sachin & Talamas (Hymenoptera, Scelionidae): description and biology of a new species of phoretic egg parasitoid of Megacopta cribraria (Fab.) (Hemiptera, Plataspidae)

Paratelenomus anuRajmohana, Sachin & Talamas,sp. nov.(Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) is an egg parasitoid of the kudzu bug,Megacopta cribraria(Fab.) (Hemiptera: Plataspidae). It is morphologically and genetically distinct fromP. saccharalis(Dodd), a well-known egg parasitoid of the same host.Paratelenomus anuis here described from India and diagnosed from other species ofParatelenomusDodd. This parasitoid can be reared easily, has high rates of parasitism, and thus may be significant for the biological control ofM. cribraria.Phoresy is documented inP. anuand provides the first known example of this behavior inParatelenomus.Paratelenomus longus(Kozlov & Lê)syn. nov.andP. mangrovusRajmohana & Narendran,syn. nov.are treated as junior synonyms ofP. tetartus(Crawford), andP. obtusus(Lê)syn. nov.is treated as a junior synonym ofP. saccharalis.