New records of encyrtid (Encyrtidae: hymenoptera) parasitoids of scale insects (Coccoidea: Hemiptera) in Egypt

The family Encyrtidae is one of the largest families among the Chalcidoidea with over 3000 nominal species known throughout the world of which thirty-eight have been recorded in Egypt (Abd-Rabou, 2006). It represents the largest group of natural enemies of soft scales (Coccidae: Hemiptera) with several hundred species in 45 genera. Prinsloo (1997) provided an excellent review and key to the genera of encyrtids associated with soft scale insects. The following represents the results of a survey of encyrtid parasitoids associated with scale insects in Egypt (Hemiptera: Cocciodea) conducted in 2009.