Comperia Gomes 1942

Zuparko, Robert L., 2015, Annotated Checklist of California Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera), Zootaxa 4017 (1), pp. 1-126 : 22

Comperia Gomes 1942

Hosts. Blattodea : Blattellidae

merceti ( Compere 1938: 317) ( Dicarnosis )

Type. BMNH

Distribution. E (Alameda, Contra Costa, Riverside, Sacramento, San Diego, Stanislaus, Yolo)

Host/habitat. Supella longipalpa , Supella supellectilium

Remarks. This appears to be a tropical species that has become adventitiously established around the world. This species was imported into California using Hawaiian stock in a biocontrol programs against cockroaches in the late 1970 s and was reported established ( Slater et al. 1981). However, there is a single specimen from Contra Costa County ( EMEC) collected in 1957, indicating the species was probably already present in the state. Gomes ( 1942) reported Blattella germanica as a host, but Roth and Willis ( 1960) noted that this was not based on rearing records. Lawson ( 1954) reported that C. merceti was unable to attack Blatta orientalis and Periplaneta americana ootheca, but a single specimen ( UCRC) was reportedly reared from a Periplaneta sp.