Release and recovery of parasitoids of the eucalyptus gall wasp Ophelimus maskelli in Israel

Four parasitoids emerged from leaves galled by the wasp Ophelimus maskelli (Ashmead) that were collected in Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia: Closterocertis chamaeleon (Girault) and an unidentified Tetrastichinae species (Eulophidae); and Stethyniuin ophelimi Huber and Stethynium breviovipositor Huber (Mymaridae). C. chamaeleon and S. ophelimi were released in eucalyptus plantations infested with O. maskelli in Israel. The recovery of the parasitoids, as well as several aspects of their possible role in control of the galls, were studied. In view of the parasitism of the galler in Wagga Wagga, we suggest that the proportion of S. ophelimi in the Israeli population of O. maskelli will increase markedly as soon as the gall wasp population density reaches a very low level.