Encarsia whittieri Girault, 1915

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 : 2254-2256

94. Encarsia whittieri Girault

( Figures 298–300 )

Encarsia whittieri Girault 1915 [238], p 60. Holotype ♀, Australia, New South Wales, Tweed Heads (Tweed River), 2 May 1914 (A. P. Dodd), sweeping in jungle (QMBA, type no. Hy. 2950, examined). Encarsia whittieri Girault : Viggiani 1985c, p 254; Dahms 1986, p 653.

Diagnosis

Female. Colour: head yellow, postgena, gena, vertex, malar region, and area around mouth brown. Mesosoma brown except mesoscutum and axilla posteriorly, scutellum, and metanotum yellow. Gaster yellow, T1 brown and tergites T2–T3 each with transverse brown band. Antenna yellow, apical segments slightly darker. Fore wing hyaline with infuscation in distal part of basal cell and behind proximal part of marginal vein. Legs yellow.

Morphology [measurements of holotype in square brackets]: stemmaticum with rugosereticulate surface sculpture. Antennal formula 1,1,4,2. Pedicel shorter than F1 (0.82–0.87) [0.87]. F1 3.09–3.46 [3.46] times as long as its maximum width, slightly shorter than or subequal in length to F2 (0.90–1.00) [0.95] and distinctly shorter than F3 (0.76–0.79) [0.79]. F2 shorter than F3 (0.79–0.83) [0.83]. Flagellomeres with the following numbers of sensilla: F1: 0, F2: 0, F3: 2, F4: 2, F5: 2, F6: 2. Midlobe of mesoscutum with eight setae, arranged symmetrically, 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 [2.43] times as long as width of disc. Marginal fringe 0.21–0.23 [0.22] times as long as width of disc. Basal cell with 7–10 setae [10]. Costal cell distally with two to three setae. Submarginal vein with two setae, marginal vein anteriorly with six to seven setae. Tarsal formula 5-5-5. Apical spur of midtibia distinctly longer than half the length of the corresponding basitarsus (0.81–0.87) [0.87]. Tergites laterally with the following numbers of setae: T1 : 0, T2 : 1, T3 : 1, T4 : 2, T5 : 3, T6 : 3, T7 with four setae. Ovipositor longer than midtibia (1.35–1.54) [1.54]. Third valvula 0.37–0.40 [0.40] times as long as second valvifer and 2.65–3.23 [3.23] times as long as clava .

Male. Colour similar to female. Head yellow, postgena, gena, vertex, malar region, and area around mouth brown. Mesosoma brown except mesoscutum posteriorly, posteromedial corner of axilla, scutellum and metanotum largely yellow. Legs yellow, hind coxa brown. Antenna brown except radicle yellow. F5 and F6 not fused and sensilla not overlapping.

Species group placement. E. strenua group.

Distribution. Australia: New South Wales, Queensland.

Host. Aleyrodidae : Aleurodicus destructor Mackie , Chitonaleyrodes sp.

Additional material examined

New South Wales: 3♀, Brindle Creek, Border Ras. National Park (28 ° 229S, 153 ° 059E), 14 February 1984 (I. D. Naumann) (ANIC, ZSMG). Dorrigo National Park (30 ° 229S, 152 ° 459E), 13 February 1984 (I. D. Naumann) (ANIC). Queensland: 1♀, 1 „, Cunninghams Gap via Aratula, 18 April 1998 (C. Burwell), ex Aleurodicus destructor on Lomandra sp. (Dasypogonaceae) (QMBA); 1♀, Brisbane, Longpocket, September 1999 (P. De Barro), ex Chitonaleyrodes sp. on Eucalyptus leucoxylon F. Muell. (Myrtaceae) (BMNH).

Figures

Figures 298–300. Encarsia whittieri Girault, female. (298) Mesosoma and gaster. (299) Antenna. (300) Fore wing.