Two species of Encyrtidae parasitic in the pink mealybug of sugarcane in India — [Hymenoptera]

In the winter of 1957, some parasites of the sugarcane mealy-bug Saccharicoccus sacchari (Ckll) were reared in the Entomology laboratory of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Delhi. Among these were two species of Encyrtidae of unusual interest owing to their structural peculiarities and have thus been described in detail. The genus Scelioencyrtus Girault was synonymized with Xanthoencyrtus Ashmead by Timberlake (1920) on insufficient grounds. Scelioencyrtus Girault has now been reinstated because of the peculiar structure found in the male antennae. A key to the species of Scelioencyrtus females has also been prepared. Astymachus japonicus Howard has been recorded from India for the first time and has been redescribed