Chromosome Sets of Two Chalcid Wasps (Hymenoptera, Eulophidae), Invasive Pests of Eucalypts (Eucalyptus spp.) on the Black Sea Coast of Krasnodar Territory

Abstract

Karyotypes of two gall-inducing species of the chalcid family Eulophidae which are invasive pests of eucalypts in the Sochi region of Russia, namely Ophelimus maskelli (Ashmead, 1900) (subfamily Opheliminae, 2n = 20) and Leptocybe invasa Fisher et La Salle, 2004 (subfamily Tetrastichinae, 2n = 12), were studied for the first time. The results, including the first karyotypic data for Opheliminae, the least advanced group of all Eulophidae, suggest that the chromosome set of O. maskelli is close to that ancestral to Eulophidae.