Encarsia notha, Schmidt & Polaszek, 2007

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 : 2201-2203

60. Encarsia notha n. sp.

( Figures 189–191 )

Description (holotype)

Female. Colour: head largely brown. Mesosoma brown except mesoscutal side lobes posteriorly, scutellum, and propodeum medially yellow. Gaster yellow, laterally brown. Antenna yellow. Fore wing with dark band behind marginal vein. Legs yellow.

Morphology: stemmaticum with rugosely reticulate surface sculpture. Antennal formula 1,1,4,2. Pedicel longer than F1 (1.44). F1 1.80 times as long as its maximum width, slightly shorter than F2 (0.90) and distinctly shorter than F3 (0.60). F2 shorter than F3 (0.67). Flagellomeres with the following numbers of sensilla: F1: 0, F2: 0, F3: 2, F4: 3, F5: 3, F6: 3. Midlobe of mesoscutum with eight setae, side lobes with two setae each. Scutellar sensilla rather distantly placed (approximately five times the maximum width of a sensillum). Distance between anterior pair of scutellar setae slightly larger than distance between posterior pair. Fore wing about 2.8 times as long as width of disc. Marginal fringe half as long as width of disc. Basal cell with three setae. Submarginal vein with two setae, marginal vein anteriorly with five setae. Tarsal formula 5-5-5. Apical spur of midtibia longer than half the length of the corresponding basitarsus (0.71). Tergites laterally with the following numbers of setae: T1: 0, T2: 1, T3: 1, T4: 1, T5: 2, T6: 2, T7 with four setae. Ovipositor longer than midtibia (1.29) and 2.1 times as long as clava. Third valvula 0.4 times as long as second valvifer.

Male. Unknown.

Species group placement. E. perflava group.

Distribution. Australia: Western Australia.

Host. Unknown.

Material examined Western Australia: Holotype ♀, CALM Site 4/3 14 km S by E Kalumburu Mission

(14 ° 259S, 126 ° 409E), 3–6 June 1988 (T. A. Weir), Malaise trap closed forest (ANIC).

Comments

The species is similar to Encarsia synaptocera Huang and Polaszek but has only two setae on the mesoscutal side lobe ( synaptocera has three), the scutellar sensilla are further apart, and the gaster is only laterally brown, whereas in synaptocera the gaster is centrally brown. Females of several species in the perflava group are very similar but males differ strikingly from each other. However, males are unknown for this and many other species of the perflava species group.

Figures

Figures 189–191. Encarsia notha n. sp., holotype female. (189) Mesosoma and gaster. (190) Antenna. (191) Fore wing.