A method for the extraction ofSitona [Col.: Curculionidae] eggs from soil and occurrence of a mymarid [Hym.: Chalcidoidea] in the mediterranean region

A simple method of extracting the eggs ofSitona spp. from the soil is described. From 1973 to 1975 it was used in Spain, France, Italy and Greece to collect in good condition the eggs ofSitona humeralis Stephens, a weevil which has recently become a major pest in Australia. A mymarid parasitoid provisionally identified asPatasson lameerei Debauche emerged from these eggs apparently unaffected by the extraction method.