Aleurodicus inversus Martin

Martin, Jon H., 2008, A revision of Aleurodicus Douglas (Sternorrhyncha, Aleyrodidae), with two new genera proposed for palaeotropical natives and an identification guide to world genera of Aleurodicinae, Zootaxa 1835 (1), pp. 1-100 : 32-33

Aleurodicus inversus Martin

( Figs 5 , 23, 24)

Aleurodicus inversus Martin, 2004: 22 . Holotype puparium, Belize [BMNH, examined].

DISTRIBUTION. Neotropical Region – Belize. MATERIAL EXAMINED. Type material listed in description, Belize ( BMNH, USNM) .

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 wide-rimmed and double-rimmed simple pores, the arrangement of its six pairs of abdominal compound pores, and submedian area having only sparse septate and minute bright pores. However, A. inversus is immediately distinguished by the zone of wide-rimmed 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 (Fig. 23), and by the presence of septate double-rimmed pores mesal to abdominal compound pore pairs 1–4 and between the 4th and 5th/6th pairs of abdominal compound pores; in contrast, the wide-rimmed pores in A. dugesii are not obviously septate, and are only present in the submargin (Fig. 22). The possession of a broad zone of wide-rimmed pores and a submarginal row of double-rimmed 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 double-rimmed septate pores are notched rather than septate, these are in a single outer submarginal row only, and its submedian area is very densely provided with smaller notched pores, in contrast to the sparse submedian septate pores in A. inversus .

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

Figures

FIGURES 5–8. Aleurodicus spp, puparia, photomicrographs. 5, A. inversus Martin. 6, A. magnificus Costa Lima. 7, A. maritimus Hempel. 8, A. niveus Martin.