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Research Project: Basic and Applied Approaches for Pest Management in Vegetable Crops

Location: Vegetable Research

Title: Notes on a Metaphycus omega-group (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) species attacking Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), with a review of the encyrtid genera reported to parasitize whiteflies

Author
item LAHEY, ZACHARY - OAK RIDGE INSTITUTE FOR SCIENCE AND EDUCATION (ORISE)
item NOYES, JOHN - LONDON NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
item SIMMONS, ALVIN
item ANDREASON, SHARON

Submitted to: Zootaxa
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/29/2025
Publication Date: 10/2/2025
Citation: Lahey, Z., Noyes, J.S., Simmons, A.M., Andreason, S.A. 2025. Notes on a Metaphycus omega-group (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) species attacking Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), with a review of the encyrtid genera reported to parasitize whiteflies. Zootaxa. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5701.2.5.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5701.2.5

Interpretive Summary: A natural enemy of the notorious sweetpotato whitefly was discovered from Florida, USA. The potential new insect species is described. In this study, morphological characters are detailed and a molecular analysis is conducted to establish genetic relatedness to other species. A review of parasitic wasps recorded as emerging from whiteflies is included and clarifies some uncertain host-parasitoid records. This discovery and review will be of interest to the scientific community and pest management specialists in the southeastern USA.

Technical Abstract: A female and male of a potential new species of the Metaphycus omega-group (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Encyrtidae) were reared from the puparia of the sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), from central and southwest Florida as part of ongoing whitefly parasitoid surveys throughout the southeastern United States. The D2 and D3 regions of the 28S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and a portion of the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene were sequenced from a single male specimen that was subjected to non-destructive DNA extraction followed by slide mounting in Canada balsam. The behavior of the male parasitoid larva within the whitefly nymph is described, an updated key to the species of Metaphycus Mercet that attack whiteflies is provided, and the genera of the chalcidoid family Encyrtidae reportedly reared from whiteflies are reviewed.