Metaphycus eriococci (Timberlake)

Wang, Ying, Li, Cheng-De & Zhang, Yan-Zhou, 2014, A taxonomic study of Chinese species of the insidiosus group of Metaphycus (Hymenoptera, Encyrtidae), ZooKeys 378, pp. 49-81 : 59-60

Metaphycus eriococci (Timberlake) Figs 43-49

Aphycus eriococci Timberlake, 1916: 631. Holotype ♀, USNM.

Metaphycus eriococci ; Tachikawa 1968: 111.

Female.

Body length, including ovipositor, 0.7-0.9 mm. Frontovertex pale orange; gena yellow to brownish yellow, gena with brown stripe extending to upper mouth margin; mouth margin medially yellow below torulus; rest of head, except occiput, yellow; antenna (Fig. 43) with radicle dark brown; scape with both faces dark brown, only apex yellowish; pedicel dark brown in proximal half, otherwise yellowish; F1-F4 dark brown, F5-F6 brownish yellow, clava dark brown, becoming slightly paler towards apex and apex very pale brown; occiput with a brown area above foramen, otherwise white; neck of pronotum dark brown to black, posterior margin white, lateral spots relatively large and distinct; dorsum of thorax orange to pale brown; sides and posterior margin of mesoscutum and axillae conspicuously bordered dark brown; setae translucent, silvery in most lights; tegula white with apex pale brown; metanotum orange to brown; mesopleuron yellow-white; prosternum and mesosternum pale yellow; legs (Figs 46-48) mainly pale yellow, mid tibia and hind tibia with faintly brown mark; fore wing hyaline, linea calva interrupted; venation yellow-brown; hind wing hyaline; propodeum medially orange-brown, laterally yellow; dorsum of gaster pale brown and ventral yellow-white; gonostylus orange.

Head about 4 × as wide as frontovertex, head with polygonally reticulate sculpture and mesh size slightly less than size of one eye facet; ocelli forming an acute angle about 50°; eye not quite reaching occipital margin, separated by much less than diameter of a facet; frontovertex subparallel and from anterior ocellus slightly wider anteriorly; scrobes shallow and U-shaped; antenna (Fig. 43) with scape 3.2 –3.7× as long as broad; funicle with F1-F4 smallest, F5 a little larger than F4, F6 largest; linear sensilla only on F5 and F6; clava 3-segmented, its apex more or less rounded but with a short, slightly oblique truncation; mandible relatively broad with three subequal, apical teeth; palpal formula 3-3 (Fig. 44), notaular lines reaching about 0.6 × across mesoscutum; fore wing venation and setation as in Fig. 45; cercal plate about in the 1/2 of gaster; ovipositor (Fig. 49) slightly exserted, 4 –5× as long as gonostylus.

Relative measurements: HW 17, FV 4.5, FVL 9, POL 2, AOL 3, OOL 1, OCL 2, POD 1, AOD 1, EL 12, EW 10, MS 5, SL 9, SW 3, FWL 45, FWW 20, OL 17, GL 5, MT 15.

Male.

Body length 0.7-0.8 mm, dark brown in coloration. Otherwise very similar to female but for antenna and genitalia.

Host.

Eriococcus howardi Ehrhorn; Eriococcus quercus (Comstock), Coccus hesperidum (Linnaeus) ( Noyes 2002); and Eriococcus lagerstroemiae Kuwana on pomegranate (new host record).

Material examined.

China: Beijing, Haidian: 23 ♀♀, 4.IV.2006, Coll. Y. Z. Zhang; 22 ♀♀, 2 ♂♂, 6.VI.2006, Coll. Y. Z. Zhang; 20 ♀♀, 5 ♂♂, 11.VIII.2003, Coll. Y. Z. Zhang; 29 ♀♀, 8 ♂♂, ex Eriococcus lagerstroemiae on pomegranate, 12.IX.2006, Coll. Y. Z. Zhang; 19 ♀♀, 1 ♂, ex Eriococcus lagerstroemiae on pomegranate, 8.X.2004, Coll. Y. Z. Zhang; 1 ♀, 17.VII.2012, Coll. Q. S. Zhou; 1 ♀, Nanjing, V.2010.

Distribution.

China (Beijing, Jiangsu); USA (California, Florida, Texas, Utah) ( Noyes 2002) (Fig. 84).

Diagnosis.

Antenna with radicle dark brown; scape with both faces dark brown, only apex yellowish; scape 3.2 –3.7× as long as broad (Fig. 43); ovipositor (Fig. 49) slightly exserted, 4 –5× as long as gonostylus. The Chinese material examined almost agrees with the original description of eriococci by Timberlake (1916). The female specimens here have the scape 3.2 –3.7× as long as broad, while in original description of eriococci the scape is a little over 4 × as long as wide ( Timberlake 1916).