Aloencyrtus vivo, 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 : 27

Aloencyrtus vivo sp. n.

( Figs. 5, 24, 43)

Description. Female. Length: 2.6 mm. Colour: black, entire front aspect of head, and thoracic dorsum, with strong metallic dark green to blue-green and purplish reflections, the scrobes bright green with a cupreous tinge; protruding gonostyli yellowish. Antenna with scape and apex of pedicel brownish-yellow, otherwise blackishbrown. Forewing strongly infuscated from base of linea calva to wing apex with a well defined hyaline cross-band beyond venation, as in Fig. 5. Legs, including middle tibial spur, mostly blackish-brown save all tarsi whitish.

Head in dorsal view 5.2x as wide as frontovertex, anterior margin of the latter gently convex, without a median notch; ocelli in a strongly acute-angled triangle, lateral pair almost contiguous with lateral eye margins, 1.3x their own diameter apart; head in frontal view ( Fig. 24) only slightly wider than high, malar space 0.7x length of eye; scrobes deep, confluent dorsally with a broad, gently convex interscrobal prominence and a well defined median dorsal fovea. Antenna ( Fig. 43) with scape 7.5x as long as broad; basal funicle segment 1.4x as long as pedicel; funicle segment I 3.8x as long as wide, the proceeding segments becoming progressively gradually shorter and broader, I–V each longer than wide VI subquadrate, as illustrated; club relatively narrow, slightly longer than distal two funicle segments combined. Head with fine cellulate-reticulate sculpture, the frontovertex and upper sides of face between scrobes and lateral eye margins with fairly densely scattered, small, shallow punctations, the diameter of each distinctly less than that of median ocellus; punctations on face below eyes poorly defined and barely discernible, the genae devoid of any punctations; head densely covered with fine, silvery-white setae; eyes naked.

Thorax distinctly convex in profile; sculpture of mesoscutum, axillae and scutellum of similar texture, finely cellulate-reticulate, the cells on mesoscutum, axillae and anterior part of scutellum mostly transversely orientated, those towards sides of scutellum longitudinally orientated, but not providing a distinct lineolate-reticulate appearance; mesoscutum evenly and fairly densely covered with fine decumbent setae, the scutellum less densely so.

Forewing ( Fig. 5) 2.4x as long as wide; marginal vein about 2x as long as postmarginal, the latter 0.4x as long as stigmal vein; setation as in Fig. 5, the setae confined to the hyaline cross-band fine, but clearly discernable under low magnification. Middle tibial spur about equal in length to basal tarsal segment of middle leg.

Gaster about as long as thorax in the single dry specimen, heart-shaped; gonostyli protruding shortly caudally.

Male. Unknown.

Remarks. Aloencyrtus vivo most closely resembles A. lindae from which it can be separated as indicated in the remarks on the latter species above. It also resembles A. umbrinus in many respects but is readily distinguished from that species by its black colour, more slender antenna (cf Figs 43 and 44) and head, which is 5.2x as wide as frontovertex, not 3.8–4.0 as in the former species.

Known distribution. Uganda.

Type material examined. UGANDA: Bugema , east of Mengo, 18.xi.1970, D.J. Greathead, ex Ceroplastes destructor on citrus (♀ holotype; mounted on a card point with one forewing and one antenna on a separate slide; HymT07331) .