Encarsia albiscutellum (Girault)

Schmidt, Stefan & Polaszek, Andrew, 2007, The Australian species of Encarsia Förster (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea: Aphelinidae), parasitoids of whiteflies (Hemiptera, Sternorrhyncha, Aleyrodidae) and armoured scale insects (Hemiptera, Coccoidea: Diaspididae), Journal of Natural History 41 (33 - 36), pp. 2099-2265 : 2119-2121

5. Encarsia albiscutellum (Girault)

( Figures 17–19 )

Prospaltella albiscutellum Girault 1913 [167], p 188. Holotype ♀, Australia, Queensland, Brisbane , 16 June 1913 (H. Hacker) (QMBA, type no. 1730, examined).

Coccophagus albiscutellum (Girault) : Girault 1915[238], p 48. Change of combination.

Coccophagus albiscutellum schilleri Girault 1915 [238], p 48. Syntypes 2♀, Australia, Queensland, Gordonvale (Cairns), 9 December 1913 and 17 June 1914 (A. A.

Girault). No type material existing (Girault 1915, p 48), but according to his description the species is ‘‘extremely like the typical form’’. Syn. nov. Coccophagus perbellus Girault 1920 [352], p 46. Australia, Queensland, Gordonvale ,

October. Type status unclear (see comments below) (QMBA, examined). Syn. nov. Prospaltella albiscutellum (Girault) : Compere 1931, p 11. Dahms 1983, p 34. Prospaltella perbella (Girault) : Compere 1931, p 11. Change of combination. Encarsia albiscutellum (Girault) : Viggiani 1985c, p 234. Encarsia perbella (Girault) : Viggiani 1985c, p 246. Change of combination. Coccophagus perbellus Girault : Dahms 1986, p 399. Encarsia albiscutellum longipalpa Hayat 1989a, p 34 . Holotype ♀, India, U. P. Aligarh,

March 1966 (M. Hayat), ex Aleurolobus sp. on Eugenia jambolana (BMNH, examined). Encarsia albiscutellum longipalpa Hayat : K. C. Chou et al. 1996, p 196; Hayat 1998,

p 193. Encarsia albiscutellum (Girault) : Huang and Polaszek 1998, p 1839.

Diagnosis

Female. Colour: head brown. Mesosoma brown except scutellum yellow. Metasoma brown. Antenna yellow, radicle and basal half of scape brown. Fore wing hyaline or with slight infuscation behind marginal vein. Legs yellow except hind coxa and femur brown.

Morphology [measurements of holotype in square brackets]: stemmaticum with transversely strigose surface sculpture. Antennal formula 1,1,3,3. Pedicel 0.96–1.10 times as long as F1. F1 1.50–1.81 [1.72] times as long as its maximum width, subequal in length to F2 (1.03–1.07) [1.07] and slightly shorter than F3 (0.93–0.97) [0.94]. Flagellomeres with the following numbers of sensilla: F1: 1–2, F2: 2, F3: 3, F4: 3–4, F5: 3–4, F6: 3. Midlobe of mesoscutum with eight setae, side lobes with two to three setae each. Scutellar sensilla widely separated (approximately seven times the maximum width of a sensillum). Distance between anterior pair of scutellar setae smaller than between posterior pair. Fore wing 2.3–2.4 [2.4] times as long as width of disc. Basal cell near base of marginal vein with two to three setae and medially with a single small seta (and occasionally with a second larger seta). Marginal fringe 0.17–0.20 [0.17] times as long as width of disc. Submarginal vein with two setae, marginal vein anteriorly with six or seven setae. Tarsal formula 5-5-5. Apical spur of midtibia slightly shorter than or subequal to length of corresponding basitarsus (0.89–0.96) [0.89], the latter proximally with three to four peg-like setae. Tergites laterally with the following numbers of setae: T1: 0, T2: 1, T3: 2–3, T4: 1–3, T5: 2–3, T6: 2, T7 conically elongated and with four setae. Ovipositor longer than midtibia (1.69–1.87) [1.83] and 2.77–2.90 times as long as clava. Third valvula 0.62–0.72 [0.72] times as long as second valvifer.

Male. Head and body dark brown, mesoscutal midlobe largely, side lobes, scutellum, and metanotum lighter. Fore wing hyaline. Legs pale, coxae more or less and hind femur brown. Antenna with six funicular segments, apical two segments not fused, but sensilla partly overlapping.

Species group placement. E. opulenta group.

Distribution. Australia: Queensland. China, India.

Host. Aleyrodidae : Aleuroduplidens sp. The following additional host has been recorded ( Huang and Polaszek 1998): Aleurolobus sp.

Additional material examined

Queensland: 2♀, 1 „, Brisbane, Chapel Hill, 25 October 2000 (P. De Barro) (ANIC, ZSMG); 1♀, 3 October 2000 (P. De Barro and D. Sands), ex Aleuroduplidens sp. on Euodia sp. (Rutaceae) (ANIC); 2♀, Heathlands (11 ° 459S, 142 ° 359E), 26–29 February 1992 and 1– 21 March 1992 (P. Feehney), Malaise trap (ANIC, ZSMG).

Comments

The species is easily recognizable by the combination of long ovipositor, dark brown colour, elongate first funicular segment, and very long midtibial spur.

The type status of E. perbella is unclear. On a slide with a female, labelled ‘‘ Coccophagus perbellus ’’, Girault had crossed out the word ‘‘type’’ and replaced it with a ‘‘?’’. Therefore Dahms (1986, p 399) did not assign a type number. Encarsia perbella (Girault) is very similar to albiscutellum and shows only minor colour differences of head and mesoscutum. According to Girault’s description perbella has, unlike albiscutellum , an orange vertex (except ocellar area) and an orange mesoscutal side lobe with a black spot, legs white except hind coxa. However, since there is no type specimen we are left with Girault’s description which is not sufficient to characterize the species sufficiently. The identity of perbella remains unclear until more material of perbella is available that fits Girault’s description and for the time being we regard perbella as a junior synonym of albiscutellum .

Figures

Figures 17–19. Encarsia albiscutellum (Girault), female. (17) Mesosoma and gaster. (18) Antenna. (19) Fore wing.