Encarsia

Guides

• Aleyrodoidea

  whiteflies

  Aleyrodoidea is a superfamily of small hemipteran insects commonly known as whiteflies. The superfamily contains a single family, Aleyrodidae, with more than 1,550 described species. Whiteflies are phytophagous insects that feed on plant sap, typically from the undersides of leaves. Several species are significant agricultural pests, including the citrus blackfly (Aleurocanthus woglumi) and the Bemisia tabaci species complex.

  whitefliesHemipteraSternorrhynchaagricultural-pestcitrus-pestphytophagousBrazilSão-Paulobiological-controlEncarsiaAleurocanthus-woglumiBemisia-tabacicryptic-speciesCOI-barcoding

• Encarsia lanceolata

  Encarsia lanceolata is a species of parasitoid wasp in the family Aphelinidae, described by Evans and Polaszek in 1997. The genus Encarsia comprises minute chalcidoid wasps that parasitize whiteflies and other hemipteran hosts. Species in this genus are extensively studied for their importance in biological control programs targeting agricultural pests. E. lanceolata belongs to a genus noted for its extensive cryptic species diversity, making accurate identification dependent on detailed morphological or molecular analysis.

  parasitoid-waspAphelinidaeEncarsiawhitefly-parasitoidbiological-controlchalcidoidcryptic-species

• Encarsia nigricephala

  Encarsia nigricephala is a parasitoid wasp species in the family Aphelinidae, described by Dozier in 1937. The species name refers to its dark (black) head. Like other members of the genus Encarsia, it is likely a parasitoid of whiteflies (Aleyrodidae), though specific host records for this species are not well documented in the available literature. The species has been recorded from the southeastern United States (Florida, Georgia, Maryland), the Caribbean (Martinique), and South America (Minas Gerais, Brazil).

  parasitoidwhitefly-parasitoidAphelinidaeEncarsiaHymenopterabiological-control