Encarsia Förster

Wang, Zhu-Hong, Huang, Jian & Polaszek, Andrew, 2014, Two new species of Encarsia Förster (Hymenoptera, Aphelinidae) and first description of the male E. plana Viggiani & Ren from China, Zootaxa 3889 (4), pp. 574-588 : 575

Encarsia Förster

Encarsia Förster, 1878: 65 . Type species: Encarsia tricolor Förster , by monotypy.

Comments. See Schmidt & Polaszek (2007a) or Noyes (2014) for generic synonymy.

Diagnosis. Body completely pale yellow to partly or (particularly males) completely brown to dark brown. Mandibles usually with three teeth, or two teeth and a truncation; maxillary palps usually 1-segmented, labial palps 1-segmented. Antenna 8-segmented in females, often 7-segmented in males. Mid-lobe of mesoscutum with 2–12 setae (very rarely more), usually arranged in bilateral symmetry; side-lobe of mesoscutum usually with 2 or 3 setae; axilla with 1 seta; scutellum with 2 pairs of setae and a pair of placoid sensilla. Fore wings with 2 setae on submarginal vein or very rarely either 1 or more than 2; anterior margin of marginal vein often with 6–8 setae; stigmal vein short; postmarginal vein absent. Male genitalia usually with phallobase several times as long as wide, with a truncate or rounded apex and without digiti; aedeagus generally longer than phallobase.

Hosts. Hemiptera : Aleyrodidae , Diaspididae and, more rarely, Hormaphididae , Psyllidae , Plataspidae (eggs), Cicadellidae (eggs) and Lepidoptera (eggs).

Distribution. Cosmopolitan.