Aloencyrtus lindae, Prinsloo, 2010

Prinsloo, Rd. L., 2010, On some Afrotropical species of Aloencyrtus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae): parasitoids of soft scales (Hemiptera: Coccidae), Zootaxa 2716, pp. 1-28 : 20-21

Aloencyrtus lindae sp. n.

( Figs 4, 23, 42)

Description. Female. Length: 1.6–2.1 mm. Colour: head and body blackish, shiny, the front aspect of head, thoracic dorsum and mesopleura with moderate dark purplish and fainter green reflections, the surface of the scrobes with a green tinge; protruding gonostyli yellowish. Antenna with scape and extreme distal end of pedicel yellowish-brownish, otherwise blackish-brown. Forewing strongly infuscated from base of linea calva to hyaline cross-band, disc beyond the band less strongly infuscated, as in Fig. 4. Legs, including middle tibial spur, blackish save tarsi yellowish, the apical segment of fore and hind tarsus dark in some specimens.

Head in dorsal view 3.7–4.6x as wide as frontovertex, anterior margin of the latter gently convex, without a median notch; ocelli in a slightly acute-angled triangle, the lateral pair almost contiguous with lateral eye margin, about 3.0–3.5x their diameter apart; head in frontal view ( Fig. 23) only slightly wider than long, malar space 0.6x length of eye; scrobes deep, converging strongly, almost confluent dorsally, with a broad, gently convex interscrobal prominence and well defined dorsal fovea. Antenna ( Fig. 42) with scape almost 8x as long as wide; basal funicle segment about 1.25x as long as pedicel; funicle segment I approximately 3x as long as wide, remaining segments becoming progressively shorter and broader as illustrated, II–IV each longer than wide, V quadrate, VI slightly wider than long; club a little longer than apical two funicle segments combined. Head with fine, cellulate-reticulate sculpture, frontovertex and upper sides of face between scrobes and lateral eye margins with small, shallow, scattered punctations, the diameter of each clearly less than that of median ocellus, lower part of face, and genae, without punctations; head evenly and moderately densely setose, the setae short and fine.

Thorax squat, distinctly convex in profile; mesoscutum strongly rounded from side to side, 2x as wide as long, scutellum sloping fairly strongly posteriorly, slightly wider than long; thorax appearing somewhat polished, the sculpture of mesoscutum, axillae and scutellum much the same in texture, finely cellulate-reticulate, the cell margins hardly raised, cells on mesoscutum and axillae mostly transversely orientated, those of scutellum, especially towards the sides, longitudinally orientated, but without a distinct lineolate-reticulate appearance; mesoscutum evenly and fairly densely coved with fine, white decumbent setae, the scutellum less densely so. Middle leg with tibial spur 0.8x as long as basal tarsal segment.

Forewing ( Fig. 4) 2.4x as long as broad; marginal vein a little longer than postmarginal, the latter 0.3–0.5x as long as stigmal vein; setation as in Fig. 4, the setae confined to the hyaline cross-band very short and fine, the band appearing asetose under low magnification. Middle leg with tibial spur almost as long as basal tarsal segment.

Gaster short and broad, noticeably shorter than thorax in dry specimens; ovipositor, in the single slide-mounted paratype, 1.4x as long as middle tibia, 5x as long as gonostyli, the latter elongate and slender, 0.8x as long as middle tibial spur, protruding prominently caudally.

Male. Colour: head and body entirely blackish, front aspect of head with strong metallic blue-green and dark purple reflections; antenna mostly blackish-brown save pale base of scape; forewing entirely hyaline, the discal setae white; legs dominantly blackish-brown except distal end of middle femur and tibia, tibial spur and all tarsi pale.

Differing structurally from the female mainly as follows: head 2.3x as wide as frontovertex; lateral ocelli in an obtuse-angled triangle; scrobes short, converging slightly; antenna typical of the genus, similar to that of A. hardii , shown in Fig. 41; basal funicle segment a little shorter than segments II-VI which are subequal in size, each 2,25– 2.5x as long as wide; club a little longer than apical funicle segment; funicle with whorls of long, curved setae. Forewing with discal setae very fine.

Remarks. Aloencyrtus lindae most closely resembles A. vivo and A. umbrinus , all three of which are readily separated from other species of the genus with similar forewing maculation by the long basal funicle segment and scrobes which are not distinctly V-shaped. Aloencyrtus lindae is distinguished from A. vivo by the less slender antennal flagellum in which the basal funicle segment is 3x as long as wide, head which is 3.7–4.6x as wide as frontovertex and forewing which is less extensively infuscated beyond the pale cross-band; in A. vivo the basal funicle segment is 3.8x as long as wide and the head 5.2x as wide as frontovertex. Aloencyrtus lindae is readily separated from A. umbrinus by its black colour with distinct purple and green tinge, to name the most obvious difference.

Aloencyrtus lindae is named for my wife, Linda.

Known distribution. South Africa.

Type material examined. ♀ holotype, 5 ♀, 2 ♂ paratypes as follows: SOUTH AFRICA. Western Cape: Villiersdorp, x.1971, H.P. Insley, ex. Ceroplastes sp. on Berzelia lanuginosa (Holotype, 2 ♀, 2 ♂; T 4056 ); Mitchell’s Pass, nr. Ceres, xii.1964, J. Munting, ex Ceroplastes sp. on Dodonaea ? viscosa (1 ♀); Mossel Bay, ii.1922, R. E. Turner (1 ♀; in BMNH); Eastern Cape: East London , x.1945, G.C. Clark (1 ♀; in BMNH) .

Additional material. South Africa. Western Cape: Mossel Bay , x.1921, R . E. Turner (1 ♀, damaged; in BMNH) .