Encarsia perpulchella (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 : 2216-2217

69. Encarsia perpulchella (Girault)

( Figures 217–219 )

Coccophagus perpulchellus Girault 1915 [238], p 53, 57. Holotype ♀, Australia, Queensland, Gordonvale (Cairns), 28 June 1914 (QMBA, type no. Hy. 2937, examined).

Prospaltella perpulchella (Girault) : Compere 1931, p 11. Change of combination.

Encarsia perpulchella (Girault) : Viggiani 1985c, p 246. Change of combination.

Coccophagus perpulchellus Girault : Dahms 1986, p 402 –403. Redescription

Female. Colour: head and mesosoma yellow except pronotum, mesoscutum anteriorly and axillae, mesopleuron, and propodeum laterally brown. Antenna yellow except F4 and F5 brown, in striking contrast to yellow F6. Gaster dark brown, apex of last tergite and ovipositor tip pale. Fore wing hyaline with brown band behind marginal vein. Legs yellow.

Morphology [measurements of holotype in square brackets]: antennal formula 1,1,3,3. Pedicel shorter than F1 (0.75–0.76) [0.75]. F1 elongate, 2.6–3.1 [3.1] times as long as its maximum width, slightly shorter than F2 (0.86–0.91) [0.91] and F3 (0.82–0.85) [0.85]. F2 slightly shorter than or subequal in length to F3 (0.95–0.98) [0.95]. Midlobe of mesoscutum with six setae, arranged symmetrically. 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 about 2.7–2.8 [2.7] times as long as width of disc. Marginal fringe 0.27–0.30 [0.27] times as long as width of disc. Submarginal vein with two setae, marginal vein anteriorly with five to six setae. Tarsal formula 5-5-5. Apical spur of midtibia clearly longer than half the length of the corresponding basitarsus (0.69–0.78) [0.78]. Tergites laterally with the following numbers of setae: T1 : 0, T2 : 1, T3 : 1, T4 : 1, T5 : 2, T6 : 3, T7 with four setae. Ovipositor longer than midtibia (1.34–1.39) [distorted in holotype, approximately 1.4 times] and 2.0–2.2 times [approximately 2.4 times in holotype] longer than clava .

Male. Unknown

Species group placement. Not established. While showing the closely placed scutellar sensilla typical for the species of the strenua group, E. perpulchella does not appear to belong to this group based on the other characters such as the shape of the stigmal vein. It shows a number of affinities with E. quercicola Howard , a Nearctic species.

Distribution. Australia: Queensland.

Host. Aleyrodidae : Dialeurodes sp.

Additional material examined

Queensland: 1♀, Blackdown Tablelands, November 2001 (P. De Barro), ex soft-bodied whitefly (ANIC); 2♀, Horseshoe Bay, Bowen, Whitsunday Sands, 19 April 2001 (P. De Barro), ex Dialeurodes sp. on Terminalia sp. # 74 (ANIC, BMNH); 1♀, Brisbane, University of Queensland Campus, 18 October 2005 (O. Schmidt), ex whitefly (ZSMG).

Figures

Figures 217–219. Encarsia perpulchellus Girault, female. (217) Mesosoma and gaster. (218) Antenna. (219) Fore wing.