Encarsiaparasitoids ofBemisia tabaci(Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae, Homoptera: Aleyrodidae): a preliminary guide to identification

Abstract A key is provided for the recognition of previously describedEncarsiaspecies which are known to attack the tobacco whitefly,Bemisia tabaci(Genna-dius). 28 nominal species are included, of which type material has been examined for 22. Eight new synonymies are proposed:Encarsia aleyrodis(Mercet) andE. partenopeaMasi are both synonymized withE. inaron(Walker); E.bemi-siae(Ishii) is synonymized withE. transvena(Timberlake);E. citri(Ishii) is synonymized withE. strenua(Silvestri),E. angelicaHoward andE. desertiRivnay & Gerling are both synonymized withE. luteolaHoward;E. perspicuipennis(Girault) is synonymized withE. quaintancei(Howard);E. tabacivoraViggiani is synonymized withE. pergandiellaHoward.E. hispidaDe Santis is removed from synonymy withE. meritoriaGahan. A lectotype is designated forE. porteri(Mercet). The known distributions and alternative hosts ofEncarsiaspecies attackingB. tabaciare provided as well as references to biology and notes on their use in biological control.