A new species of Dialeurolobus (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) from Protea nitida in South Africa
Author
Millar, I. M.
Author
Dooley, J. W.
text
Zootaxa
2013
3694
2
178
184
journal article
43212
10.11646/zootaxa.3694.2.7
628526b0-a15f-43a7-b0e1-afe3d4b74cb8
1175-5326
220728
1FCE5CE1-4E3F-46B5-B7AC-F712D9F56180
Dialeurolobus
Danzig
Dialeurolobus
Danzig, 1964: 634
.
Type
species:
Dialeurolobus pulcher
Danzig, 1964
, by monotypy and original designation.
The genus
Dialeurolobus
was described by Danzig (1964) to accommodate a single new species,
Dialeurolobus pulcher
Danzig
, from the Caucasus region of
Russia
. Currently, the genus contains three species, namely
D
.
erythrinae
(Corbett, 1935)
,
D
.
pulcher
Danzig, 1964
and
D
.
rhamni
Bink-Moenen, 1992
(Martin & Mound, 2007; Evans, 2007).
Aleuromarginatus erythrinae
Selvakumaran & David, 1996
, was synonymized with
D
.
erythrinae
(Corbett)
by Martin & Mound (2007). Martin
et al
. (2000) noted that
D
.
rhamni
may prove to be a synonym of
D
.
pulcher
.
Species of
Dialeurolobus
occur in the Middle East,
India
, the eastern Palaearctic region,
Korea
and
Malaysia
. They feed on plant species belonging to the
Fabaceae
,
Lythraceae
,
Rhamnaceae
,
Rosaceae
and
Rutaceae
(Martin
et al
., 2000; Lee
et al
., 2005; Evans, 2007; Martin & Mound, 2007; Suh & Hodges, 2008). Little appears to have been published on the biologies of these particular whiteflies. The life cycle of
D
.
rhamni
, on the deciduous plant
Rhamnus lycioides
in the Mediterranean area, was studied by Gerling and Ben-Ari (2010). They provided an account of the adaptation of
D
.
rhamni
to the life cycle of its host plant, with regard to the overwintering mode of this insect.
The genus
Dialeurolobus
is not readily definable by a diagnosis to which all its included species conform. In general, the puparia are dark (one species is pale), with a crenate margin, and the transverse moulting sutures may curve strongly forward. Abdominal segment VIII is trilobate, the median length of segment VII is reduced, and there is no submarginal fold or suture around the dorsum. The vasiform orifice is triangular, almost fully occupied by the operculum. First abdominal setae are present or absent, cephalic setae are present and thoracic setae are usually absent. Small combs are usually evident in the thoracic and caudal tracheal areas.
Dialeurolobus
is very similar to
Aleurolobus
Quaintance &
Baker
, 1914
, from which it differs by not having a dorsal submarginal suture (Danzig, 1964).
Dialeurolobus
, or at least its
type
species
D
.
pulcher
, also closely resembles
Zaphanera
Corbett, 1926
, but differs mainly by having a caudal furrow and triangular vasiform orifice (Martin, 1999). The transverse moulting sutures of
D
.
pulcher
and
D
.
rhamni
curve strongly forward, which is a characteristic feature of
Zaphanera
. Like
Zaphanera
,
Dialeurolobus
has a crenate margin, no dorsal sbmarginal fold, and there are general similarities in the chaetotaxy of these two genera.