Encarsia maria (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 : 2193-2194

54. Encarsia maria (Girault)

( Figures 171–173 ) Coccophagus maria Girault 1931 [435], p 3. Lectotype ♀, here designated, Australia,

Queensland, Miles , January 1924 ( QMBA, type no. T. 4010, examined) .

Paralectotypes 2♀ and 3 „, same data as lectotype. According to Girault’s unpublished collecting data they were ‘‘reared from coccids on ‘pine’’’ ( Dahms 1984, p 794). All type specimens are on the same slide but under two different cover slips. The lectotype is the maria specimen further to the right under the cover slip in the centre of the slide, located between the other cover slip on the left and the label on the right.

Coccophagus maria Girault : Dahms 1984, p 794 –795.

Encarsia maria (Girault) : Viggiani 1985c, p 244. Change of combination.

Redescription

Female. Colour: head yellow except stemmaticum brown. Mesosoma yellow, pronotum, anterior margin of mesoscutal midlobe and T1 anteriorly more or less brown; following tergites laterally very slightly brown and T3–T6 with very faint transverse brown band. Antenna yellow. Fore wing hyaline. Legs yellow.

Morphology [in square brackets measurements of lectotype]: antennal formula 1,1,3,3. Pedicel subequal in length to F1 (0.80–1.00) [1.00]. F1 2.5–2.7 [2.7] times as long as its maximum width, subequal in length to F2 and slightly shorter than F3 (0.79–1.00) [1.00]. Flagellomeres with the following numbers of sensilla: F1: 0, F2: 0, F3: 2–3, F4: 2–3, F5: 3, F6: 3. F6 dorsally at apex with indentation. Midlobe of mesoscutum with 8–10 setae, side lobes with three setae each. Scutellar sensilla close together, separated by a distance of about the width of a sensillum. Distance between anterior pair of scutellar setae distinctly smaller than between posterior pair. Fore wing 2.4 times as long as width of disc. Marginal fringe 0.26–0.28 [0.26] times as long as width of disc. Submarginal vein with two setae, marginal vein anteriorly with six or seven setae. Basal cell with six to eight setae. Tarsal formula 5-5-5. Apical spur of midtibia longer than half the length of the corresponding basitarsus (0.73–0.86) [0.81]. Tergites laterally with the following numbers of setae: T1: 0, T2: 1, T3: 1, T4: 1, T5: 3, T6: 3, T7 with four setae. Ovipositor longer than midtibia (1.31–1.43) [1.31] and 2.06–2.37 [2.27] times as long as clava. Third valvula 0.33–0.39 [0.33] times as long as second valvifer.

Male. Darker than female, gaster mostly and pronotum brown. Flagellum five-segmented, F5 and F6 fused and longitudinal sensilla partly overlapping.

Species group placement. E. strenua group.

Distribution. Australia: Queensland, South Australia.

Host. Aleyrodidae : Aleuromarginatus sp.

Additional material examined

South Australia: 1♀, Teatree Gully, 25 October 1958 ( R. V. Southcott) ( ANIC) ; 1♀, Mt Ngungun , 2001 (P. De Barro), ex Aleuromarginatus sp. ( ZSMG) .

Comments

The species is similar to E. protransvena , but with broader fore wing (2.4 times as long as wing width, whereas it is 2.6–2.8 times in protransvena ), setae on mesoscutal midlobe of similar size (in protransvena the anterolateral and posterior setae are much stouter than the medial setae), and body with brown colour pattern ( protransvena is completely yellow).

Figures

Figures 171–173. Encarsia maria Girault, female. (171) Mesosoma and gaster. (172) Antenna. (173) Fore wing.