Aleuroglandulus inanis, Martin, 2005

Martin, Jon H., 2005, Whiteflies of Belize (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) Part 2 - a review of the subfamily Aleyrodinae Westwood, Zootaxa 1098 (1), pp. 1-116 : 13-15

Aleuroglandulus inanis sp. nov.

( Figs 29–32 , 87, 139)

PUPARIUM. Habitus. Feeding on lower surfaces of leaf, numerous but evenly distributed, not associated with major veins. Rather cryptic, yellowish in appearance, secretions from glandular areas not mealy but appear to be hygroscopic, with many individuals shiny­wet in humid conditions (Fig. 139). In unmounted dried material, cephalic glandular areas visible as shiny, shallow humps. Rims of operculum and vasiform orifice, and head of lingula, brownish. Margin. Outline broadly ovoid, somewhat narrowed caudally, flattened between caudal setae, widest opposite transverse moulting sutures; clear sexual size dimorphism, 1.13–1.27 mm long, 0.88–0.95 mm wide (female) and 1.00– 1.08 mm long, 0.76–0.81 mm wide (male) (n=50). Anterior and posterior marginal setae present, minute. Margin smooth to irregular, without teeth excepting the thoracic tracheal combs of up to five irregularly­defined rounded teeth, and caudal tracheal combs of 10+ better­defined small rounded teeth. Dorsum. Longitudinal moulting suture reaches puparial margin; transverse moulting sutures turning apically anteriad, terminating in subdorsum opposite ends of pronounced, straight meso­metathoracic suture. Remaining cephalothoracic segmentation in form of oblique folds, not suture­like; abdominal segmental divisions terminate in subdorsum, segment III/IV somewhat more pronounced than remainder; abdominal segment VII not reduced medially; submedian abdominal depressions distinct. Cephalic and abdominal segment III glandular areas stain more darkly than remainder of cuticle (Fig. 87), but are not otherwise differentiated in slide­mounted specimens (but see habitus description, above); cephalic glandular areas overlie whole of forelegs and antennae, and abut the cephalic/prothoracic and pro–mesothoracic folds, but those on abdominal segment III are much smaller and abut only the segment III/IV suture. Vasiform orifice ( Fig. 29 ) rounded­triangular, inset from puparial margin by less than its own length (Fig. 87) and situated on a rounded­heptagonal raised area which also incorporates a shallow caudal furrow; when floor of orifice is visible, it is punctuated as shown ( Fig. 30 ). Operculum subcircular, occupying basal two­thirds of vasiform orifice; lingula head ( Fig. 29 ) spinulose, occasionally overlapping posterior margin of vasiform orifice, with three pairs of pronounced lateral lobes and a pair of apical setae; lingular setae extend beyond vasiform orifice, almost to puparial margin. Chaetotaxy. Anterior and posterior marginal setae present, very fine, but often lost during slide preparation. Single pairs of short, fine cephalic ( Fig. 32 ), first abdominal and eighth abdominal setae present, the latter placed adjacent to anterior corners of vasiform orifice and much shorter than operculum ( Fig. 29– 30 ); caudal setae stout, placed marginally at either end of caudal tracheal comb, attaining length of vasiform orifice. Pores. A small number of distinct and rather large pore/porette geminate pairs ( Fig. 32 ) present on dorsal disc, five on each side in cephalothorax, one adjacent to each submedian abdominal depression on abdominal segments III & IV, one adjacent to each distal end of intersegmental sutures V–VII, and one a little further mesad on segments V & VII. Venter. Ventral abdominal setae long and fine, similar in length to vasiform orifice. Legs normal, each with a fine adhesion pad and each also with a single stout thorn­like spine ( Fig. 31 ). [Foreleg spine sometimes superficially appears to be associated with antennal base, and hind leg spine is usually smaller than those on fore and middle legs.] Antennal bases anterior to fore legs; antennae very short and apically pointed ( Fig. 31 ). Thoracic tracheal folds marked as a pair of parallel lines running mesad from thoracic marginal combs, but unpatterned.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. Holotype puparium, BELIZE, CFR, on Carica sp. (Caricaceae) , 05.iii.1996 (J.H.Martin #6746) ( BMNH). Paratypes: 55 puparia, 5 thirdinstar larvae, 1 second­instar larva, same data as holotype ( BMNH, USNM).

ETYMOLOGY. The specific epithet is the latin word inanis (meaning ghostly or insubstantial), reflecting the characterstics of the paired prothoracic and 3rd abdominal glands.

COMMENTS. A. inanis differs from the other described Aleuroglandulus species in the following combination of characters: glandular areas shiny but otherwise indicated on prepared specimens only by differential staining; with the vasiform orifice inset from the puparial margin by less than its own length; the presence of leg­base spines. These characters are constant throughout the substantial type sample.

Figures

FIGURES 29–34. 29–32, Aleuroglandulus inanis sp. nov., puparium (see Figs 87, 139 for photographs). 29, posterior dorsal detail; 30, detail of floor of vasiform orifice; 31, legs and legbase spines; 32, cephalic setae and geminate pore/porette pairs. 33–34, Disiphon russellae sp. nov., puparium (see Fig. 113 for photograph). 33, posterior dorsal detail, showing both types of dorsal siphon­glands; 34, longitudinal moulting suture, cephalic setae, short­type of siphon­glands and geminate pore/porettes.