Aleurothrixus floccosus (Maskell), 1914

Martin, Jon H., 2005, Whiteflies of Belize (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) Part 2 - a review of the subfamily Aleyrodinae Westwood, Zootaxa 1098 (1), pp. 1-116 : 21-22

Aleurothrixus floccosus (Maskell)

( Figs 15 , 96)

Aleurodes floccosa Maskell, 1896: 432–433 . Lectotype, Jamaica (designated by Martin, 1999: 50). Aleurothrixus floccosus (Maskell) Quaintance & Baker, 1914: 103 .

DISTRIBUTION. Neotropical Region—widely distributed; Nearctic Region—Florida; Palaearctic Region—Mediterranean basin, Macaronesia, Japan (Okinawa); Ethiopian Region—widely distributed; Oriental Region— India; Austro­Oriental Region— Philippines, Singapore; Pacific Region—Galapagos Is, Tahiti; Malagasian Region— Mauritius, Réunion.

COMMENTS. A. floccosus , often known as the woolly whitefly, is a native of the Neotropical Region, first described from Jamaican material sent to Maskell in New Zealand. The woolly whitefly has been present in the Mediterranean basin, the Macaronesian islands and in Africa for many years but has more recently been found in eastern and south­eastern Asia ( Singapore, 1994; Philippines, 1996; Okinawa, 1998—vouchers in BMNH), and is also present in the Malagasian Region and in the Pacific: it is a species which has been slowly extending its range for many years, and has been the cause of economic problems in several parts of the world. There is variation in puparial cuticular pigmentation between populations ( Martin, 1999: 51), and it is possible that there are several races of this pest species.

Figures

FIGURES 13–16. 13–15, Aleurothrixus spp. 13, A. chivelensis (Sampson & Drews), vacated pupal case, dorsal, simplified drawing; 14, A. myrtacei Bondar, puparium, dorsum, simplified drawing (see Fig. 97 for photograph); 15, A. floccosus (Maskell), puparium, dorsum (see Fig. 96 for photograph); 16, Aleurotrachelus tracheifer (Quaintance), puparium, dorsum, simplified drawing (see Figs 99, 141 for photographs).