Isolation and Characterization of Nine Microsatellite Loci for a Parasitoid Wasp, Encarsia smithi (Silvestri) (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae)

The parasitoid wasp Encarsia smithi is an important agent in the classical biological control of two species of invasive spiny whiteflies, Aleurocanthus spiniferus and Aleurocanthus camelliae. To evaluate the performance of parasitism indexed by genetic diversity, a highly polymorphic genetic marker is required. In this report, nine microsatellite loci are described for E. smithi. The microsatellite loci were obtained through the construction of an enriched library and exhibited polymorphisms (2-6 alleles per locus) and high levels of expected heterozygosities (0.203-0.780, average 0.537). Linkage disequilibrium and null alleles were not detected in these microsatellite loci. The isolated microsatellite markers may be useful to estimate the genetic diversity of E. smithi.