Aloencyrtus hardii, 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 : 18-19

Aloencyrtus hardii sp. n.

( Figs 3, 22, 40, 41)

Description. Female. Length: 1.6−1.8 mm. Colour: head from mouth margin to upper limits of scrobes with a bright metallic green and bronze lustre, the frontovertex dark green; thorax and gaster blackish, pronotum and mesoscutum with a fairly weak dark green sheen, changing to dark purplish in certain plays of light; scutellum with a weak, dark purplish tinge; mesopleura with greenish suffusions. Antenna with scape brownish-yellow to pale brown, remainder blackish-brown. Forewing as in Fig. 3, strongly infuscated from about base of linea calva to hyaline cross-band, the infuscated disc beyond the band a little paler. Legs, including middle tibial spur, mostly blackish-brown except middle and hind tarsi with basal segment white, remaining segments darker.

Head in dorsal view 3.5−3.8x as wide as frontovertex, anterior margin of the latter slightly concave, without a median notch; ocelli in a slightly acute-angled triangle, small, lateral pair almost contiguous with eye margins, separated from each other by about 3.75x their own diameter; head in frontal view ( Fig. 22) only slightly wider than high, malar space about 0.7x as long as an eye; scrobes distinctly inverted V-shaped, deep, narrow, confluent dorsally, with a broad, gently convex interscrobal prominence extending about 0.75x length of scrobes, with a mall, shallow, poorly defined dorsal fovea. Antenna ( Fig. 40) with scape about 6.8x as long as wide; pedicel a little longer than basal funicle segment; funicle segments I–III each longer than wide, I about 1.7x as long as wide, II–III each a little longer and broader, segment IV quadrate, V and VI each wider than long, as in Fig. 40; club as long as apical three funicle segments. Sculpture of head, including surface of scrobes, coarsely cellulate-reticulate, the cells small, their margins raised; frontovertex from occipital margin to upper limits of scrobes with small, scatted, punctations, the diameter of each about half of that of median ocellus; remainder of head devoid of punctations; head sparsely and inconspicuously setose, the setae short and fine.

Thorax squat, fairly strongly convex in profile; mesoscutum strongly rounded from side to side, almost 2x as wide as long, scutellum sloping strongly posteriorly, slightly wider than long; thoracic dorsum with a rather smooth, shiny appearance in contrast to the head, the sculpture of mesoscutum, axillae and scutellum of the same fine texture, cellulate-reticulate, the cells on scutellum elongate and mostly longitudinally orientated; mesoscutum densely and evenly setose, the setae fine, short, decumbent, scutellum less densely so. Middle leg with tibial spur as long as basal tarsal segment.

Forewing ( Fig. 3) 2.2x as long as wide; marginal and postmarginal veins about equal in length, the latter about 0.5x length of stigmal vein; setation as in Fig. 3, the setae confined to cross-band very short and fine, the band appearing asetose under low magnification.

Gaster short and broad, heart-shaped, only about half as long as thorax in dried specimens; ovipositor not protruding caudally.

Male. Colour: head brilliant metallic green, body blackish, thoracic dorsum with a faint greenish and dark purplish tinge. Antenna largely sordid white, the whorls of setae pale. Wings entirely hyaline, discal setae refractive, white; legs with coxae and femora blackish-brown, the latter fading strongly at their distal ends; tibiae and tarsi whitish, the middle and hind tibiae with brownish suffusions in their basal half.

Differing structurally from the female mainly as follows: head 2.3x as wide as frontovertex, the ocelli in an obtuse-angled triangle; scrobes short, sub-parallel; antenna ( Fig. 41) typical of the genus; funicle segment I about 2x as long as wide, a little shorter than each of II–VI which are about equal in size, each 2.5x as long as wide; club as long as apical one and a half funicle segments; funicle with whorls of long, curved setae as illustrated. Forewing with discal setae very fine, barely discernible.

Remarks. Based on a combination of the inverted V-shaped scrobes and similar forewing maculation, A. hardii can be grouped with A. nativus and A. distinguendus . Aloencyrtus hardii is, however, readily separated from the latter two species by the scutellum that is black with a weak, dark purplish tinge (not bright green to purple), the sculpture of a similar somewhat smooth texture than that of mesoscutum, as mentioned in the foregoing key.

Aloencyrtus hardii is named for Hardi, my elder son.

Known distribution. South Africa.

Type material examined. ♀ holotype, 1 ♀, 3 ♂ paratypes as follows: SOUTH AFRICA: KwaZulu-Natal: Lake St. Lucia , 18.viii.1969, H.P. Insley, ex. Saissetia sp. on Albizia adianthifolia (Holotype, 2 ♂ paratypes; T 3146 ); Limpopo: Magoebaskloof, xi.1963, D.P. Annecke, with Saissetia somereni Newstead and Parasaissetia nigra (Nietner) on Syzygium cordatum (1 ♀, card mounted, save 1 forewing and 1 antenna mounted separately on slide, 1 ♂; T 1602 ) .