Metaphycus orientalis (Compere)

Wang, Ying, Li, Cheng-De & Zhang, Yan-Zhou, 2014, A taxonomic study of Chinese species of the insidiosus group of Metaphycus (Hymenoptera, Encyrtidae), ZooKeys 378, pp. 49-81 : 51-52

Metaphycus orientalis (Compere) Figs 1-7

Aphycus orientalis Compere, 1924: 120. Holotype. ♀ (USNM, not examined), Japan.

Metaphycus orientalis ; Flanders and Bartlett 1964: 39-42; Trjapitzin 1975: 9; Trjapitzin 1989: 234.

Female.

Body length, including ovipositor, 0.6-0.8 mm. Frontovertex pale orange; immaculate with yellow from occiput to base of mandible; mouth margin medially yellow below torulus; gena yellowish white; antenna (Fig. 1) with radicle pale brown; scape with both faces black, only base and apex white, narrowly white along the dorsal margin; pedicel dark brown in proximal one-third, otherwise white; F1-F4 dark brown, F5-F6 yellow-white; basal segment of clava dark brown, remaining segments becoming slightly paler towards apex, apex yellow-white; occiput with a brown area above foramen, otherwise yellow; neck of pronotum pale brown to dark brown, posterior margin white, lateral spots relatively small and distinct; dorsum of thorax orange; sides and posterior margin of mesoscutum and axillae inconspicuously bordered brown; setae translucent, silvery in most lights; tegula white with apex pale brown; metanotum orange; mesopleuron white; prosternum and mesosternum white; legs (Figs 4-6) pale yellow, tibiae proximally brown, mid tibiae subbasally with an indistinct brown band; fore wing (Fig. 3) hyaline, linea calva interrupted by two to four lines of setae; venation yellow-brown; hind wing hyaline; propodeum medially orange, laterally yellow; gaster dorsally yellow to very slightly pale brown, ventrally white; gonostylus orange.

Head about 4 × as wide as frontovertex, head with polygonally reticulate sculpture, mesh size slightly less than size of one eye facet; frontovertex about one-fourth head width; ocelli forming an acute angle of about 30°; eye not quite reaching occipital margin, separated by a little less than diameter of a facet; frontovertex not subparallel, becoming wider anteriorly, narrowest about level with anterior margins of posterior ocelli; scrobes deep, U-shaped; antenna with scape about 1.8 × as long as broad; funicle with F1-F4 smallest, F5 a little larger than F4 but transverse, F6 largest and wider than long; linear sensilla only on F5 and F6; clava 3-segmented, its apex more or less rounded but with a short, slightly oblique truncation; mandible relatively broad with three subequal, apical teeth; palpal formula 3-3 (Fig. 2), notaular lines reaching about 0.4 × across mesoscutum; fore wing venation and setation as in Fig. 3; cercal plate about in the 1/3 of gaster; ovipositor (Fig. 7) hardly exserted, about 4.8 × as long as gonostylus.

Relative measurements: HW 15, FV 3.5, FVL 7, POL 1.5, AOL 3, OOL 0.5, OCL 2.5, POD 1, AOD 1, EL 9, EW 7, MS 5, SL 6, SW 3, FWL 33, FWW 15, HWL 25, HWW 5, OL 13, GL 3, MT 13.

Male.

Unknown.

Host.

Coccus hesperidum Linnaeus, Coccus pseudomagnoliarum (Kuwana), Saissetia coffeae (Walker) ( Noyes 2002).

Distribution.

China (Hainan) (Fig. 84); Japan, USA (Biocontrol introduction) ( Noyes 2002).

Material examined.

China: 2 ♀♀, Hainan, Diaoluo Mt., 6-7.V.2007, Coll. Y. Z. Zhang; 1 ♀, Hainan, Diaoluo Mt., 6.V.2007.

Diagnosis.

Scape with both faces black, apices and dorsal margin of scape white; F5 entirely yellowish white (Fig. 1); gena yellowish white; mid tibia subbasally with a faint brown band (Fig. 5); head about 4 × as wide as frontovertex; scape about 1.8 × as long as broad (Fig. 1); ovipositor (Fig. 7) hardly exserted, about 4.8 × as long as gonostylus. Metaphycus orientalis is similar to Metaphycus angustifrons in general appearance but can be separated from the latter by the scape about 1.8 × as long as broad (in angustifrons, scape about 2.4 × as long as broad); head about 4 × as wide as frontovertex (in angustifrons, head about 5 × as wide as frontovertex); F5 entirely yellowish white (in angustifrons, F5 marked with brown externally).