Encarsia perniciosi (Tower)

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 : 2214-2216

68. Encarsia perniciosi (Tower)

( Figures 214–216 )

Prospaltella perniciosi Tower 1913, p 125 –126. Syntypes, both sexes, USA, Massachusetts, Amherst , October 1912, [ex Quadraspidiotus perniciosus (Comstock) ] (MSCA, USNM, examined).

Prospaltella aurantii argentina De Santis 1948, p 238 –241. Holotype ♀, Argentina, Fuerte General Roca, ex Quadraspidiotus perniciosus (UNLP, not examined). Synonymy by De Santis 1979, p 335.

Prospaltella perniciosi Tower : Gahan 1927, p 21; Peck 1951, p 437; Flanders 1953, p 92; Clausen 1956, p 12, 32, 124; 1978, p 123; Ferrière 1961, p 266 –267; 1965, p 160; Peck 1963, p 280; Mathys and Guignard 1965, p 163; Nikol’skaya and Yasnosh 1966, p 281; Herting 1972, p 162; Yasnosh 1978, p 501; De Santis 1979, p 335; Gordh 1979, p 908. Encarsia perniciosi (Tower) : Hayat 1981, p 466; 1986, p 163; 1989a, p 53–54; 1998, p 222– 224; Viggiani 1987b, p 162 –163; Viggiani and Ren 1993, p 327; Huang and Polaszek 1998, p 1932 –1933.

Diagnosis

Female. Colour: head brown, vertex yellow, face with more or less distinct transverse brown band between eyes. Mesosoma brown, mesoscutum posteriorly and axilla posteriorly, scutellum and metanotum yellow. Brown colour pattern of axilla posteriorly delimited by a more or less distinct dark brown line. Gaster predominantly brown. Antenna light brown. Fore wing with dark band behind marginal vein. Legs pale, hind coxa brown.

Morphology: stemmaticum with rugosely strigose surface sculpture. Antennal formula 1,1,3,3. Pedicel longer than F1 (1.53–1.63). F1 1.23–1.47 times as long as its maximum width, shorter than F2 (0.50–0.58) and F3 (0.61–0.64). F2 slightly longer than F3 (1.07– 1.26). Flagellomeres with the following numbers of sensilla: F1: 0, F2: 1–2, F3: 1, F4: 1–2, F5: 2–3, F6: 3. Midlobe of mesoscutum with eight setae, arranged symmetrically, anterolateral and posterior setae stouter than medial setae, side lobes with three setae each. Scutellar sensilla widely separated (approximately six to seven times the maximum width of a sensillum). Distance between anterior pair of scutellar setae greater than between posterior pair. Fore wing 2.5–2.6 times as long as width of disc. Marginal fringe 0.30 times as long as width of disc. Basal cell with two to three setae. Submarginal vein with two setae, marginal vein anteriorly with six setae. Tarsal formula 5-5-5. Apical spur of midtibia almost as long as corresponding basitarsus (0.88–0.97). 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 subequal in length to midtibia and 1.21–1.27 times as long as clava. Third valvula 0.37– 0.41 times as long as second valvifer.

Male. No males were collected in the study area. For a description of males from elsewhere see Huang and Polaszek (1998).

Species group placement. E. aurantii group. Distribution. Australia: New South Wales, Queensland. Virtually cosmopolitan, having been widely introduced .

Host. Diaspididae . Aonidiella aurantii (Maskell) , A. citri (Maskell) ,? Ceroplastes rubens Maskell. The following additional hosts have been recorded by Huang and Polaszek (1998): Parlatoria acalcarata Maskell , Quadraspidiotus gigas (Thiem and Gerneck) , Q. perniciosus (Comstock) . Peck (1963) recorded the species additionally from Lepidosaphes ulmi (L.).

Material examined

New South Wales: 1♀, Kulnura, February 1967 (D. P. Annecke), ex scale (BMNH); 12♀, Kulnura, February 1967 (G. Snowball), ex Aonidiella aurantii and A. citri on citrus ( Rutaceae ) (BMNH). Queensland: 1♀, Mundubbera, 21 October 1998 (D. Papacek) (ANIC); 1♀, Palmwoods, 1 February 1978 (D. Smith) with Ceroplastes rubens (BMNH) .

Figures

Figures 214–216. Encarsia perniciosi (Tower), female. (214) Mesosoma and gaster. (215) Antenna. (216) Fore wing.