Copidosoma dius

Female: Length 1–1.4mm. Head with metallic, golden green reflections; gena with golden or purple reflections; antenna brown, scape with metallic blue and green reflections; mesoscutum with metallic blue-green reflections, scutellum shiny brown with faint golden reflections; mesopleuron with metallic reflections, faintly green anteriorly, purplish posteriorly; tegula white, apex translucent; forewing very weakly, uniformly infuscate; legs brown, coxae with faint metallic reflections, joints yellowish; gaster brown with faint metallic reflections. Head about 1.8 as wide as frontovertex; ocelli forming an angle of 90 degrees; antenna with scape nearly 6x as long as broad, F1 about 1.5 as long as broad and about 0.9 as long as pedicel, clava solid, oval, the sensorial part extending towards the base for nearly half of its length. Mesoscutum and scutellum with similar sculpture of irregular polygonal cells, these shallower on scutellum; forewing narrow, about 2.5x as long as broad. Gaster with ovipositor not exserted, distinctly curved upwards.
Male: Length 1-1.3mm. Very similar to female but for colour of tegula, structure of antenna and genitalia. Tegula with apex brown; antenna with scape about 5x as long as broad, F1 about 2x as long as broad and just a little longer than pedicel.

Unless identified by a recognized expert, explain how the specimen was identified and include photos of key features.

Endoparasite of Elachista adscitella, E. albifrontella, E. argentella on Helichotrichon pratense, on Deschampsia caespitosa and on Dactylis sp., E. bisulcella, E. humilis, E. utonella (Elachistidae). Possibly: Coleophora nutantella
(Coleophoridae); Dichrorampha plumbana (Tortricidae).

Unknown.

Unknown.

Guerrieri, E. & Noyes, J. (2005) Revision of the European species of Copidosoma Ratzeburg (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), parasitoids of caterpillars (Lepidoptera). Systematic Entomology, 30(1), 97-174.