Morphological and molecular taxonomic analysis of the Encarsia meritoria species‐complex (Hymenoptera, Aphelinidae), parasitoids of whiteflies (Hemiptera, Aleyrodidae) of economic importance

Five closely related species of Encarsia, belonging to the luteola species‐group, are analysed taxonomically using morphological and molecular techniques. Four of these belong to the meritoria‐complex, and all species have a complicated taxonomic history of repeated misidentification and confusion. Morphological analysis is focused on morphometric characters of the female antennae using principal component and canonical discriminant analyses. DNA sequence data for the D2 region of 28S nuclear ribosomal genes were obtained for 13 populations of the luteola‐group, with a further seven population sequences being obtained from GenBank. The combination of morphological and molecular study enables us to resolve the complex to a large extent, and to correct the previous confusion surrounding this group of species. Two species —E. californica and E. dispersa— are described as new. A proposal to place E. brasiliensis (Hempel) in synonymy with E. hispida DeSantis (the more recently described taxon) is presented. A lectotype is designated for E. haitiensis Dozier. Diagnoses or descriptions, and illustrations, of all included species are provided to facilitate the identification of females belonging to this complex. All known data concerning hosts and geographical distribution are presented.