[1] Encarsia perniciosi is a tiny dark-coloured wasp, rather smaller than Comperiella bifasciata, another parasitoid of scale insects.

E. perniciosi is common near the coast in California, and used to be present in citrus groves inland until the introduction of Aphytis melinus.

The wasp larva matures rapidly and pupates inside the body of its host.

[3] On the California red scale, this wasp is thelytokous, with female offspring being produced from unfertilised eggs.

On the San Jose scale however, though some females reproduce by thelytoky, other strains are arrhenotokous, with males being produced from unfertilised eggs.