Encarsia nigriventris (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 : 2198-2200

58. Encarsia nigriventris (Girault)

( Figures 183–185 )

Prospaltella nigriventris Girault 1913 [167], p 189. Holotype ♀, Australia, Queensland, Brisbane , 26 June 1913 (H. Hacker) (QMBA, type no. Hy. 1731, examined).

Coccophagus nigriventris (Girault) : Girault 1915[238], p 47, 56. Change of combination.

Prospaltella nigriventris Girault : Compere 1931, p 11. Dahms 1986, p 347.

Encarsia nigriventris (Girault) : Viggiani 1985c, p 245 –246. Change of combination.

Redescription

Female. Colour: head yellow except postgena with transverse brown band on vertex partly, malar space and area around mouth brown. Mesosoma mostly yellow, pronotum, mesoscutal midlobe anteriorly and axillae anteriorly more or less brown. Metasoma dark brown except petiole lighter and apex of T7 yellow. Antenna yellow with apical segments darker. Fore wing with dark band behind marginal vein. Legs yellow, hind coxa occasionally brown.

Morphology [measurements of holotype in square brackets]: stemmaticum with transversely strigose surface sculpture. Antennal formula 1,1,6,0, i.e. clava not defined. Pedicel longer than F1 (1.21–1.58). F1 1.40–1.53 [1.42] times as long as its maximum width, distinctly shorter than F2 (0.54–0.67) [0.64] and F3 (0.56–0.69) [0.60]. F2 subequal in length to, or slightly longer, than F3 (0.93–1.24) [0.93]. Flagellomeres with the following numbers of sensilla: F1: 0(–1), F2: 1–2, F3: 2–3, F4: 2–3, F5: 2–3, F6: 2. Midlobe of mesoscutum with 8(–11) setae, side lobes with two setae each. Scutellar sensilla widely separated (approximately three to four times the maximum width of a sensillum). Distance between anterior pair of scutellar setae smaller than between posterior pair. Fore wing 2.4–2.7 [2.5] times as long as width of disc. Marginal fringe 0.33–0.44 [0.37] times as long as width of disc. Basal cell with two setae. Submarginal vein with two setae, marginal vein anteriorly with five or six setae. Tarsal formula 5-5-5. Apical spur of midtibia longer than half the length of the corresponding basitarsus (0.63–0.77) [0.75]. Tergites laterally with the following numbers of setae: T1: 0, T2: 1, T3: 1, T4: (1–)2, T5: 3, T6: 2, T7 with four setae. Ovipositor subequal in length to midtibia. Third valvula 0.40–0.46 [0.42] times as long as second valvifer.

Male. Unknown.

Species group placement. E. smithi group.

Distribution. Australia: Queensland, Western Australia. Host. Aleyrodidae : Aleurocanthus sp. , Aleuroduplidens sp. , Aleurotrachelus sp. , Pseudaleuroplatus litseae (Dumbleton) , Tetralicia sp. , Xenaleyrodes sp.

Additional material examined

Queensland: 2♀, Mundubbera, 2 June 1997 and 6 November 1997 (D. Papacek), ex Aleurocanthus on Citrus sp. (Rutaceae) (ANIC); 2♀, Bundaberg, Kinkuna National Park, 4 November 1999 (P. De Barro), ex Tetralicia sp. on Banksia sp. (Proteaceae) (ANIC); 2♀, Bowen, November 1999 (P. De Barro), ex Tetralicia sp. (ANIC); 1♀, Brisbane, Mt Glorious, 29 October 2000 (P. De Barro), ex Pseudaleuroplatus litseae (ANIC) ; 1♀, Brisbane, 23 August 1999 (P. De Barro), ex Aleurotrachelus sp. on Callistemon viminalis (Sol. ex Gaertn.) G. Don ( Myrtaceae ) (ZSMG); 1♀, Brisbane, Longpocket, 5 April 2001 (P. De Barro), ex Xenaleyrodes sp. on Eucalyptus major (Maiden) Blakely (Myrtaceae) (ZSMG); 2♀, near Kinkuna National Park, 10 April 2001 (P. De Barro), ex Aleuroduplidens sp. on Persoonia sp. (Proteaceae) (ANIC, ZSMG); 1♀, Kuranda, dam road, 2 December 1982 (Z. Bouček) (BMNH). Western Australia: 1 ♀, Stirling Range National Park, 9 November 1999 (S. and O. Schmidt), ex whitefly on Dryandra cf. blechnifolia (ZSMG) .

Figures

Figures 183–185. Encarsia nigriventris Girault, female. (183) Mesosoma and gaster. (184) Antenna. (185) Fore wing.