A newly discovered bacterial symbiont, unrelated to Wolbachia, has been found causing thelytokous parthenogenesis in whitefly and scale insect parasitoids in the genus Encarsia. PCR-based surveys of other insects and arthropods indicate it may not be widespread, although related bacteria appear in mites and ticks. The bacterium is also present in one sexual population of E. pergandiella, but to date, none of several hypotheses for its role in this population have been supported.
Species 1: Hymenoptera Aphelinidae Encarsia pergandiella
Species 2: Homoptera Aleyrodidae Bemisia tabaci (sweetpotato whitefly)
Keywords: Wolbachia, parthenogenesis
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