''Ooencyrtus marcelloi'' is a parasitic wasp belonging to the family
Encyrtidae
Encyrtidae is a large family of parasitic wasps, with some 3710 described species in about 455 genera. The larvae of the majority are primary parasitoids on Hemiptera, though other hosts are attacked, and details of the life history can be variab ...
. The species was first discovered in 2008 in a tropical lowland rainforest in the Soberanía National Park around Gamboa,
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
. The scientific name was first published in 2010.
Female length 0.9 mm; male length 0.7-0.8 mm. The hosts of this parasitic wasp are eggs of
Heliconiini
Heliconiini is a tribe of butterflies in the subfamily Heliconiinae, also known as the passion-vine butterflies. This group has roughly 100 species and subspecies distributed primarily in the Neotropics.passion vines: '' Passiflora auriculata'', ''
Passiflora biflora
''Passiflora biflora'', the twoflowered passionflower, is a vine with paired peduncles and flowers up to wide. It is native to the New World from Mexico to Colombia and Venezuela.Krings, A., and R.R. Braham. 2005. ''Guide to Tendrillate Climber ...
Passiflora vitifolia
''Passiflora vitifolia'', the perfumed passionflower, is a species of ''Passiflora'', native to southern Central America (Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama) and northwestern South America (Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru).
Description
It is a vi ...