Aleurotulus, Quaintance & Baker

Martin, Jon H., 2005, Whiteflies of Belize (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) Part 2 - a review of the subfamily Aleyrodinae Westwood, Zootaxa 1098 (1), pp. 1-116 : 25

ALEUROTULUS Quaintance & Baker

Aleurotulus Quaintance & Baker, 1914: 101–102 . Type species Aleurodes nephrolepidis Quaintance, 1900: 29–30 , by original designation.

DIAGNOSIS AND COMMENTS. As interpreted here, Aleurotulus comprises species whose puparia ( Figs 9–11 , 42, 101–104) display the following combination of characters: margin regularly toothed, the teeth either simple or each with a gland at its base; if margin modified at tracheal openings then as combs of modified teeth; submargin not differentiated from remainder of dorsal disc; single submedian pairs of metathoracic, eighth abdominal and caudal setae present, cephalic and mesothoracic pairs present or absent; submargin bearing seven pairs of tiny setae in cephalothorax ( Fig. 10 ) and anterior part of abdomen [character shared with species of Aleurothrixus ]; abdomen with or without a rhachis; vasiform orifice ovoid to cordate, mostly occupied by operculum; lingula head large, usually extending beyond boundary of vasiform orifice ( Fig. 11 ), but sometimes folded vertically into posterior part of orifice; puparial cuticle pale or brown, but not requiring bleaching.

Only six described species are included in this genus. In Belize Aleurotulus is represented by one described species ( A. mundururu Bondar ), one that is here described ( A. laneus sp. nov.), and one species that remains undescribed, all species belonging to a group that share the presence of posterolaterally­directed arms extending from the median abdominal rhachis, and characteristicly deep oblique cephalothoracic folds. However, members of the A. mundururu ­group may later prove not to be congeners of the type species of Aleurotulus , A. nephrolepidis (Quaintance) : A. nephrolepidis lacks the abdominal rhachis, deep cephalothoracic folding and marginal tooth­base glands. The whole generic grouping of Aleurothrixus , Aleurotulus and Aleurotrachelus will require a range of techniques to allow its complete reappraisal.

Figures

FIGURES 9–12. Aleurotulus laneus sp. nov. 9, puparium, dorsum (see Fig. 101 for photograph); 10, puparium, cephalothoracic margin and submarginal dorsal detail; 11, puparium, posterior dorsal detail; 12, adult female, antenna, apical flagellar segments.