Aleurotulus nephrolepidis (Quaintance), 1914

Hernández-Suárez, Estrella, Martin, Jon H., Gill, Raymond J., Bedford, Ian D., Malumphy, Christopher P., Betancort, J. Alfredo Reyes & Carnero, Aurelio, 2012, 3212, Zootaxa 3212, pp. 1-76 : 11

Aleurotulus nephrolepidis (Quaintance)

( Figures 5 and 80)

Aleurodes nephrolepidis Quaintance, 1900: 29–30 .

Aleurotulus nephrolepidis (Quaintance) Quaintance & Baker, 1914:102 .

extraniens ( Bemis, 1904: 526) ( Aleurodes ) [Synonymised by Quaintance & Baker, 1914: 102.]

kewensis ( Trehan, 1938:183 ( Aleuroplatus ) [Synonymised by Mound, 1966: 40.]

Distribution in the Canary Islands: TENERIFE: Puerto de la Cruz. Elsewhere: Palaeartic Region (restricted to indoor plantings in cooler areas): England, Hungary, Scotland, Spain; Malagasian Region: Madagascar; Neotropical Region: Brazil; Nearctic Region: USA ( California , Pennsylvania).

Host plants in the Canary Islands: Aspidium sp. , Asplenium daucifolium . Other host plants listed: Mound & Halsey (1978) listed 20 fern species within 7 different plant families, including: Blechnum spp. , Dryopteris spp. , Polystichum spp. , Nephrolepis spp. , Pteris spp. Martin & Camus (2001) listed the known hosts for this whitefly species.

Comments: Aleurotulus nephrolepidis is a specialist fern-feeder that was recorded in the Azores and Canary Islands by Martin et al. (2000: 448). On the Canary Islands A. nephrolepidis has been found only in Puerto de la Cruz Botanical Garden, and it is not of known economic importance. Gómez-Menor (1954) recorded “ Aleurotulus filicium Goeldi ” (a name combination not used elsewhere) from the same botanical garden, on the fern Aspidium sp. , but this whitefly name was regarded as nomen dubium by Mound & Halsey (1978). However, Gomez-Menor’s material (MHNM) was examined by the first author and confirmed to be A. nephrolepidis . In the field, it is extremely difficult to see because living nymphs are very cryptic and post-emergence pupal cases are translucent and widely scattered ( Fig.80).