Encarsia ancora Schmidt & Polaszek

Synonymy

Encarsia ancora Schmidt und Polaszek, 2007: 2123-2124.

Diagnosis

Female

Colour. Head yellow, postgenae with brown markings. Mesosoma yellow, pronotum and anterior margin of mesoscutal midlobe brown. Metasoma predominantly brown. Antenna yellow, apical segment of clava brown. Fore wing with dark band behind marginal vein. Legs yellow.

Morphology [measurements of holotype in square brackets]. Maxillary palp 2-segmented. Stemmaticum with reticulate surface sculpture (Figure 25). Antennal formula 1,1,3,3. Pedicel subequal to or longer than F1 (1.12–1.45) [1.12]. F1 longer than wide (1.20–1.56) [1.56], shorter than F2 (0.60–0.81) [0.81] and F3 (0.60–0.78) [0.78]. Flagellomeres with the following numbers of sensilla: F1: 0, F2: 2–3, F3: 3, F4: 3, F5: 2–3, F6: 2–3. Midlobe of mesoscutum with 8 setae, side lobes with 3 setae each. Scutellar sensilla rather closely placed (approximately 3 times the maximum width of a sensillum). Distance between anterior pair of scutellar setae smaller than between posterior pair. Fore wing 2.1–2.2 [2.2] times as long as width of disc. Marginal fringe 0.15–0.19 [0.15] times as long as width of disc. Basal cell with 6–8 setae. Submarginal vein with 2 setae, marginal vein anteriorly with 6 setae. Tarsal formula 5-5-5. Apical spur of midtibia subequal in length to corresponding basitarsus. Tergites laterally with the following numbers of setae: T1: 0, T2: 1, T3: 1, T4: 1, T5: 3, T6: 3, T7 with 4 setae. Ovipositor shorter than midtibia (0.71–0.72) [0.71], subequal in length to clava. Third valvula about 0.6–0.7 [0.6] times as long as second valvifer, apically appearing truncate.

Male

Unknown.

Species group placement

Not established.

Distribution

Australia: Queensland.

Host

Aleyrodidae: Xenaleyrodes timonii Martin.

References

• Schmidt, S.; Polaszek, A. 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: 2099–2265. doi