Encarsia maculiformis Wang, Huang & Polaszek

Wang, Zhu-Hong, Huang, Jian & Polaszek, Andrew, 2014, Two new species of Encarsia Förster (Hymenoptera, Aphelinidae) and first description of the male E. plana Viggiani & Ren from China, Zootaxa 3889 (4), pp. 574-588 : 576-582

Encarsia maculiformis Wang, Huang & Polaszek , sp. nov.

( Figs 11–19 )

Type material. Holotype, ♀ (on slide). China: Hainan, Sanya, 10 January 2014 (coll. Zhu-Hong Wang), ex unknown whitefly on Ficus microcarpa Linn. ( FAFU). Paratypes: 1 ♀ (on slide). Same data as holotype ( FAFU). Additional material examined: 1 ♀ (head lost, on slide). China: Hainan, Sanya, 19 March 2013 (coll. Yan-Hua Li & Zhi-Min Zhang), ex? whitefly on Ficus microcarpa Linn. ( FAFU).

Description. Female. Holotype. Body length: 0.57 mm.

Colour. Body mostly pale yellow. Head with mouth region dark brown, eyes dark grey, ocelli red-brown. Mandible brown ( Figs 12–14 ). Antenna pale yellow to dark yellow ( Fig. 15 ). Mesosoma with anterior margin of pronotum and lateral margin of axillae brown to dark brown; prosternum dark ( Figs 11, 12 ). Wings hyaline except fore wing faintly infuscate behind marginal vein ( Fig. 16 ). Legs white to pale yellow. Metasoma with petiole, anterior margin of T1, and T5 with transverse dark brown stripes; posteromedial margin of T1 and middle of T2–T4 with short transverse dark brown stripes forming ⊥ -shaped dark brown patch from petiole to T5 ( Fig. 11 ); gastral sternites anteromedially dark brown; third valvula pale yellow ( Fig. 12 ).

Head. Frontovertex largely with transverse sculpture. Maxillary and labial palps 1-segmented. Mandibles with three teeth. Antennal formula 1:1:3:3; scape 4.12× as long as wide; pedicel equal in length to F2 (31: 31), longer than F1 (31: 21) and slightly shorter than F3 (31: 33); F1 shorter than each of flagellar segments, respectively; C1–C 3 in length as 38: 43: 55; flagellum with following numbers of longitudinal sensilla: F1: 0, F2: 1, F3: 1, F4: 2, F5: 2, F6: 2 ( Fig. 15 ).

Mesosoma. Mid-lobe of mesoscutum smooth, posteromedially with 1+1 fine setae; side-lobe of mesoscutum with 2 setae; axilla with 1 seta; scutellum with 2 pairs of setae, fore pair of setae finer than and 0.33× as long as hind pair, distance between fore pair of setae slightly greater than between hind pair; placoid sensilla distantly placed, closer to fore pair than to hind pair of setae ( Fig. 18 ). Fore wing narrow, 3.17× as long as maximum width of wing disc; marginal fringe rather long, 0.73× as long as maximum width of disc; submarginal vein with 2 setae, anterior margin of marginal vein with 6 or 7 setae, basal cell with 1 seta; wing disc densely setose ( Fig. 16 ). Tarsal formula 5: 5: 5.

Metasoma. Metasoma 1.31× as long as mesosoma; petiole laterally with fine sculpture; tergites 1–7 with setae as follows: T1, 0+0; T2–T5, 1+1 each; T6, 2 between cercal plates; T 7, 6 in two rows. Ovipositor short, basally located at apex of T4, not projecting beyond apex of metasoma, equal in length to mid tibia (65: 65) and shorter than mid tibia and basitarsus combined (65: 81); third valvula about 0.38× as long as second valvifer, and 1.13× as long as mid basitarsus ( Fig. 19 ).

Male. Unknown.

Species-group placement. Encarsia perflava -group.

Host. Unknown whitefly ( Hemiptera : Aleyrodidae ) on Ficus microcarpa Linn.

Distribution. China (Hainan).

Etymology. The species name is derived from the Latin, maculiformis = patched, referring to the ⊥ -shaped dark brown patch on the metasoma.

Diagnosis. Encarsia maculiformis sp. nov. is placed in the perflava group, and keys to couplet 63 in the key to Chinese Encarsia species given by Huang & Polaszek (1998), but differs from all other species of perflava group in the following characters: metasoma with the distinctly ⊥ -shaped dark brown patch from petiole to T5 ( Fig. 11 ); mid-lobe of mesoscutum smooth, posteromedially with only 1+1 fine setae ( Fig. 18 ); antenna with F1 short, without longitudinal sensilla ( Fig. 15 ); fore wing narrow, 3.17× as long as maximum width of wing disc; marginal fringe rather long, 0.73× as long as maximum width of disc ( Fig. 16 ).

Figures

FIGURES 11 – 15. Encarsia maculiformis, female: 11, body in dorsal view; 12, body in ventral view; 13, head in frontal view; 14, head in occipital view; 15, antenna.

FIGURES 16 – 19. Encarsia maculiformis, female: 16, fore wing; 17, stigmal vein; 18, mesosoma; 19, ovipositor.