![]() Most specimens were satisfactorily cleared after 8 hrs in the reaction mixture, but some were left for 24 hrs without damaging the specimen. Tubes were agitated periodically, by hand, to ensure the specimen remained in the reaction mixture at the bottom of the tube. Tissue digestion was achieved by incubating the reaction mixture for 8 hrs at 56 ☌. The specimen was then transferred to an Eppendorf tube containing 90 µl ATL lysis buffer to which 20 µl proteinase K was added. Individual specimens were first removed from ethanol and allowed to air dry on a Kimwipe for approximately 30 s. Genomic DNA was extracted from Aleurocybotus puparia, adults, and single wasps using a DNeasy Blood and Tissue Kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany). Reared parasitoid specimens were killed directly in 95% ethanol and stored at -20 ☌ until DNA extraction. Parasitized whitefly puparia were excised from portions of leaf tissue using a cork borer (5 mm diameter), placed in size 0 gelatin capsules (Pure Planet Products, Scottsdale, Arizona), and monitored daily for emergence. Parasitoid specimens were reared directly from their host. Representative series of unparasitized puparia and other whitefly life stages were collected into 95% ethanol and slide-mounted following the protocol of Martin (2004), except that clearing of specimens took place in an ATL lysis buffer-Proteinase K solution, the first step in a non-destructive DNA extraction protocol that retains the cuticle of the insect for subsequent morphological examination. Immature and adult Aleurocybotus were collected in 2022 from infested ornamental Muhly grass in Gainesville, Florida (Alachua County) and Charleston, South Carolina (Charleston County), USA. Materials and methods Specimen collection The purpose of this study is to describe a new species of Encarsia reared from a pestiferous, undescribed species of Aleurocybotus from the southeastern United States, place the Encarsia species within the context of the genus based on a phylogenetic analysis of 28S ribosomal DNA, and provide a key to the species of Encarsia known to attack Aleurocybotus. Several species have been at the center of successful biological control programs, which makes this genus of considerable economic importance ( Clausen and Berry 1932 Hart et al. The primary hosts of Encarsia are whiteflies, although other groups of sternorrhynchous Hemiptera and insect eggs may also be attacked ( Polaszek 1991 Evans et al. 2020), although conservative estimates of the number of species is 10× that number ( Polaszek et al. The genus Encarsia contains approximately 450 described species ( Kresslein et al. The latter three genera are infrequently collected from Aleurocybotus for discussions of those species, the reader is referred to the above references. 2009) Metaphycus Mercet ( Encyrtidae) (Myartseva and Cancino 2010) and Euderomphale Girault ( Eulophidae) ( LaSalle and Schauff 1994). Natural enemies associated with Aleurocybotus include several species of chalcidoid parasitoid Hymenoptera in four genera: Encarsia Förster and Eretmocerus Haldeman ( Aphelinidae) ( Myartseva et al. occiduus Russell, have been collected in Florida. The remaining three described species are recorded from the west and east coasts of the United States ( Quaintance 1899 Russell 1964 von Ellenrieder and Bailey 2022), and two of these, A. cereus Martin was described from Belize ( Martin 2005). Species of Aleurocybotus are unusual among whiteflies in that they feed exclusively on grasses ( Poaceae) and sedges ( Cyperaceae) ( Russell 2000). The undescribed species can be separated from its congeners by a combination of morphological characters found in the immature and adult stage (G. ![]() It has been known for several years that an undescribed species of the genus Aleurocybotus Quaintance & Baker exists in Florida (G. ![]() While many of these species have been described, the discovery of new aleyrodid species is not uncommon, nor is the establishment of extralimital, adventive whiteflies ( Stocks 2013). Florida is home to the largest number of whitefly ( Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) species in the United States ( Hodges and Evans 2005 L. ![]()
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