Encarsia armillata Schmidt & Polaszek

Synonymy

Encarsia armillata Schmidt & Polaszek, 2007: 2126-2127.

Description

Female

Colour. Head yellow, mesosoma yellow except the following parts more or less brown: pronotum, mesoscutellar midlobe anteriorly and anteromedial stripe, axillae anteriorly, and propodeum . Gaster mostly pale, petiole, T1 and T5-T6 with brown band, T2-T4 with more or less distinct brown patch laterally. Third valvula brown, lighter at base than at apex. Antenna yellow. Fore wing hyaline. Legs yellow.

Morphology [measurements of holotype in square brackets]. Stemmaticum with rugosely-strigose surface sculpture. Antennal formula 1,1,3,3. Pedicel longer than F1 (1.56–1.85) [1.71]. F1 slightly longer than its maximum width (1.14–1.44) [1.40], distinctly shorter than F2 (0.62–0.81) [0.67] and F3 (0.65–0.81) [0.70]. F2 subequal in length to, or slightly longer than, F3 (1.11–1.14) [1.05]. Flagellomeres with the following numbers of sensilla: F1: 0, F2: 1–2, F3: 1–2, F4: 2–3, F5: 2, F6: 2–3. Midlobe of mesoscutum with 8 setae, arranged symmetrically, side lobes with 3 setae each. Scutellar sensilla very distantly placed (approximately 8–9 times the maximum width of a sensillum). Distance between anterior pair of scutellar setae subequal to distance between posterior pair. Fore wing 2.3–2.4 times as long as width of disc. Marginal fringe 0.22–0.35 [0.22] times as long as width of disc. Submarginal vein with 2 setae, marginal vein anteriorly with 5–6 setae. Basal cell with 2–3 setae. Tarsal formula 5-5-5. Apical spur of midtibia longer than half the length of the corresponding basitarsus (0.76–0.86) [0.86]. Tergites laterally with the following numbers of setae: T1: 0, T2: 1, T3: 1, T4: 1, T5: 2, T6: 3, T7 with 4 setae. Ovipositor subequal in length to midtibia and 1.38–1.48 [1.41] times as long as clava. Third valvula 0.57–0.69 [0.63] times as long as second valvifer, third valvulae appearing hook-shaped apically, with rounded apex.

Male

Unknown.

Species group placement

E. lutea group.

Distribution

Australia: Queensland, Western Australia.

Host

Aleyrodidae: Aleurolobus sp.

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