Encarsia lutea (Masi)

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 : 2189-2191

52. Encarsia lutea (Masi)

( Figures 165–167 )

Prospaltella lutea Masi 1909, p 25 . Syntypes ♀, Italy, Campania, Portici (DEUN, examined). Coccophagus sanctus Girault 1928 [224], p 3. Holotype ♀, Australia, Queensland, Tingoora, 17 March 1923 (QMBA, type no. T. 3848, examined). Syn. nov.

Encarsia sancta (Girault) : Viggiani 1985c, 246–247. Change of combination.

Coccophagus sanctus Girault : Dahms 1986, p 500.

Encarsia lutea (Masi) : Ferrière 1965, p 132; Viggiani and Mazzone 1979, p 46; 1980, p 51; Hayat 1981, p 466; 1986, p 162; 1989a, p 48–50; Viggiani 1987b, p 155 –156; Ren 1988, p 396; Polaszek et al. 1992, p 384; 1999, p 154–156; Viggiani and Ren 1993, p 223; Schauff et al. 1996, p 21; Huang and Polaszek 1998, p 1912 –1914; Schmidt et al. 2001, p 379.

Diagnosis

Female. Colour: head yellow with dark transverse band, vertex slightly darkened. Mesosoma yellow except pronotum, anteromedian patch on mesoscutum, axillae, and propodeum largely brown. Metasoma yellow except brown at base and laterally more or less darkened. Third valvula at least partly brown, contrasting with pale remaining ovipositor. Antenna yellow. Fore wing hyaline. Legs pale yellow.

Morphology: stemmaticum with rugosely strigose surface sculpture. Antennal formula 1,1,3,3. Pedicel distinctly longer than, and up to twice as long as, F1 (1.53–2.05). Antenna relatively stout, F1 almost quadrate and shorter than F2 (0.65–0.86) and F3 (0.68–0.86). Flagellomeres with the following numbers of sensilla: F1: 0, F2: 1, F3: 1–2, F4: 2–3, F5: 2–3, F6: 2–3. Midlobe of mesoscutum with (4–)6–8 setae, side lobes with three setae each. Scutellar sensilla widely separated (approximately nine times the maximum width of a sensillum). Distance between anterior pair of scutellar setae slightly greater than between posterior pair. Fore wing 2.6–2.8 times as long as width of disc. Marginal fringe 0.37–0.47 times as long as width of disc. Submarginal vein with two setae, marginal vein anteriorly with six to eight setae. Basal cell with one to two setae. Tarsal formula 5-5-5. Apical spur of midtibia longer than half the length of the corresponding basitarsus (0.73–0.87). 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 slightly shorter than midtibia (0.80–0.84) and 0.92–1.25 times as long as clava. Third valvula 0.34–0.38 times as long as second valvifer.

Male. Body dark brown, mesoscutellar midlobe posteriorly, scutellum and legs lighter. Head brown except vertex with paler areas. Antenna pale, second and third funicular segments with distinct glandular complex (Pedata et al. 1995), apical two segments fused.

Species group placement. E. lutea group.

Distribution. Australia: Queensland, Western Australia. Cosmopolitan.

Host. Aleyrodidae : Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) . The following additional hosts have been recorded ( Chou et al. 1996; Hayat 1989a; Huang and Polaszek 1998; Ren 1988; Viggiani 1987b; Yasnosh 1989): Acaulaleyrodes citri (Priesner and Hosny) , Aleurocanthus cinnamomi Takahashi , A. zizyphi Priesner and Hosny , Aleurolobus marlatti (Quaintance) , A. niloticus Priesner and Hosny , A. rhododendri Takahashi , A. setigerus Quaintance and Baker , A. wunni (Ryberg) , Aleuroplatus pectiniferus Quaintance and Baker , Aleurotrachelus jelineki (Frauenfeld) , A. rubi (Takahashi) , Aleurotuberculatus acubae (Kuwana) , A. ficicola Takahashi , A. gordoniae Takahashi , A. jasmini Takahashi , A. malloti Takahashi , A. mellastomae Takahashi , A. psidii (Singh) , Aleyrodes lonicerae Walker , A. proletella (Linnaeus) , Asterobemisia carpini (Koch) , A. atraphaxinus (Danzig) , Bemisia ovata (Goux) , B. porteri Corbett , B. salicaria Danzig , Bulgarialeurodes cotesii (Maskell) , Dialeurodes citri (Ashmead) , D. formosoanensis Takahashi , D. kirkaldyi (Kotinsky) , Pealius mori (Takahashi) , P. setosus Danzig , Singhius hibisci (Kotinsky) , Siphoninus phillyreae (Haliday) , Taiwanaleyrodes meliosmae Takahashi , Tetralicia sp. , Trialeurodes abutiloneus (Haldeman) , T. vaporariorum (Westwood) .

Additional material examined

Queensland: 1♀, Ayr, 13 September 1996 (P. De Barro), ex Bemisia tabaci on Sonchus oleraceus L. ( Asteraceae ) (ANIC, ZSMG); 1♀, Dalby, 3 April 1997 (B. A. Franzmann), ex Bemisia tabaci on Gossypium hirsutum L. ( Malvaceae ) (ANIC). Western Australia: 2♀, Wanneroo, 1 October 1996 (P. De Barro), ex Bemisia tabaci on Hibiscus sp. (Malvaceae) (ANIC).

Comments

Although morphologically rather uniform in the Australian and Pacific regions, E. lutea exhibits large colour variation in other regions ( Viggiani and Ren 1993; Huang and Polaszek 1998). The morphology and colour pattern of E. sancta fall clearly within the range of variation observed in E. lutea .

Figures

Figures 165–167. Encarsia lutea (Masi), female. (165) Mesosoma and gaster. (166) Antenna. (167) Fore wing.