Aleurodicus inversus, John H. Martin, 2004

John H. Martin, 2004, Whiteflies of Belize (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). Part 1 — introduction and account of the subfamily Aleurodicinae Quaintance & Baker, Zootaxa 681, pp. 1-86 : 22-24

Aleurodicus inversus sp. nov.

( Figs 5, 59, 71–72)

PUPARIUM. Habitus. puparial dorsum densely covered by curls of waxy secretion (which are similar to, but less distinctive than, those seen in A. dispersus , fig. 123), with a long, glassy filament secreted from each of the ten large compound pores and emerging through the denser wax. Margin. Outline 1.05–1.16 mm long, 0.65–0.77 mm wide, generally widest at abdominal segment II/III (n=17). Margin smooth but often downcurled or slightly deflexed, not modified opposite tracheal openings. Dorsum. Longitudinal moulting suture reaching puparial margin; transverse moulting sutures only distinct submedially. Abdominal segment VII so reduced medially as to be difficult to discern. Vasiform orifice (Fig. 59) rounded­cordate; operculum trapezoidal, its posterior margin very shallowly “m”­shaped, bearing a pair of stout setae; lingula head tongue­shaped, densely covered by seta­like spinules, bearing the normal 4 stout setae; lingula slightly overlapping posterior puparial margin in all but the most flattened of slide­mounted specimens. Chaetotaxy. Anterior marginal setae not evident. A pair of posterior marginal setae, single pairs of submedian cephalic, pro­, meso­ and metathoracic (Fig. 71), and eighth abdominal setae present, all long and hair­like; submargin with 12 pairs of similar setae (including the nominal caudal pair), the anteriormost pair inset to near cephalic submedian pair (Fig. 71). Pores. Cephalic compound pores 30–35 µ m in outer diameter, abdominal compound pores often slightly decreasing in diameter from 1st pair (up to 50 µ m) to 4th pair (40 µ m), with 5th and 6th pairs only 10–18 µ m. Axial processes of large compound pores, when present, rather short, dagger­shaped and variably curved apically ( Figs 5, 72). Immediately within puparial margin lies a single row of small wide­rimmed simple pores (Fig. 72a), each pore sometimes appearing shallowly “w”­shaped if seen in lateral aspect, situated only about a pore­diameter from its neighbours and separated from each neighbour by a short cuticular fold perpendicular to puparial margin (Fig. 72a); remainder of submargin and whole of subdorsal zone densely punctuated by slightly larger wide­rimmed simple pores, this zone encompassing the large abdominal compound pores, and the zone’s inner boundary developed into mesally­directed lobes that stand slightly proud of the remainder of the dorsal disc ( Figs 5, 72). Large septate double­rimmed pores, up to 18 µ m in diameter, present in an uneven submarginal row, with one or two also situated mesal to each large abdominal compound pore and between 4th abdominal pair of (large) compound pores and the (small) 5th and 6th abdominal compound pores (Fig. 59). Submedian area only sparsely provided with (smaller) septate pores and minute bright pores (Fig. 72, to right), these only inconsistently paired on either side of body; submedian pores usually absent from metathorax and abdominal segments I & II. Ve n t e r. Ventral abdominal setae similar to dorsal setae, their bases close­set, situated mesal to abdominal spiracles and underlying vasiform orifice. Legs typically robust and two­segmented, smooth, each with a pronounced apical claw ( Fig. 5). Antennal apices extending to middle of hind legs ( Fig. 5), their bases anterolateral to fore legs, the basal one­third smooth­sided but remainder finely corrugate­sided, pointed apically. Tracheal folds absent. Each abdominal segment with a median patch of very fine spinules present.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. Holotype puparium, BELIZE, CFR, Las Cuevas, on Stizophyllum riparium (Bignoniaceae) , 25.iii.2003 (J.H.Martin #7800) ( BMNH). Paratypes (all from CFR, Martin coll.): 22 puparia, 3 adult males, 7 adult females, same data as holotype ( BMNH); 37 puparia, 4 third­instar larvae, 1 adult male, 1 adult female, same locality and host family, 11.ii.1996, 16.ii.1996, 04.iii.1996, 25.iii.2003, 09.vi.2004 ( BMNH, USNM); 5 puparia, 1 third­instar exuviae, 1 adult male, 2 adult females, on Paullinia pinnata (Sapindaceae) , 29.iii.2003 ( BMNH); 1 puparium, same locality, on unidentified host, 06.iv.2003 ( BMNH); 13 puparia (plus approximately 10 more dry, attached to leaf), on Combretum cacoucia (Combretaceae) , 06.vi.2004 ( BMNH).

ETYMOLOGY. The specific epithet is the Latin inversus (meaning inverted), referring to the raised­lobulate inner edge of the wide­rimmed pore band lending the submedian area the appearance of a rhachis­shaped depression.

COMMENTS. The puparial characters of A. inversus indicate that it is a close relative of A. dugesii Cockerell , sharing the characters of a submarginal zone of wide­rimmed simple and double­rimmed pores, the arrangement of its six pairs of abdominal compound pores, and submedially having only sparse septate and minute bright pores. However, A. inversus is immediately distinguished by the zone of wide­rimmed pores occupying the subdorsum as well as the submargin (encompassing abdominal compound pore pairs 1–4), by the pronounced lobulate inner margin of this zone, and by the presence of septate double­rimmed pores mesal to abdominal compound pore pairs 1–4 and between the 4th and 5th/6th pairs of abdominal compound pores; in contrast, the wide­rimmed pores in A. dugesii are not obviously septate, and are only present in the submargin. The possession of a broad zone of wide­rimmed pores and a submarginal row of double­rimmed septate pores by A. inversus also indicates similarity to the spiralling whitefly, A. dispersus Russell , but A. dispersus has only 4 pairs of abdominal compound pores (all large), its wide­rimmed septate pores are in a single outer submarginal row only, and its submedian area is very densely provided with smaller septate pores.

All the recorded host plants for A. inversus are woody forest vines, and this whitefly species displays a clear preference for such plants.