Oobius agrili

Oobius agrili is a parasitic non-stinging wasp of family Encyrtidae which is native to North Asia.

It is a parasitoid of the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, family Buprestidae), an invasive species which has destroyed tens of millions of ash trees in its introduced range in North America.

As part of the campaign against the emerald ash borer (EAB), American scientists in conjunction with the Chinese Academy of Forestry searched since 2003 for its natural enemies in the wild leading to the discovery of several parasitoid wasps, including Oobius agrili, which is a solitary egg parasitoid of EAB found on ash trees in Jilin province in 2004; it has been recorded to kill up to 60 percent of EAB eggs.

[2] Field studies were carried out in 2005 which revealed that Oobius agrili completes at least two generations per year.

[3] The USDA carried out paired choice assays with eggs of six different native Agrilus species, two cerambycid beetles, and four lepidopterans.