Dialeurodicus caballeroi, John H. Martin, 2004

John H. Martin, 2004, Whiteflies of Belize (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). Part 1 — introduction and account of the subfamily Aleurodicinae Quaintance & Baker, Zootaxa 681, pp. 1-86 : 41-43

Dialeurodicus caballeroi sp. nov.

( Figs 22, 87–89)

PUPARIUM. Habitus. Scattered on the lower surfaces of leaves, not noticeably associated with major leaf veins, without visible secretions but a translucent plate of secretion is usually revealed during slide­making: when actively feeding, immature stages extremely cryptic, with leaf tissue often visible through body; post­emergence pupal cases silvery, with rays and median line variably brownish­pigmented ( Fig. 22). Margin. Outline ovoid, often slightly asymmetrical, 1.78–2.41 mm long, 1.05–1.65 mm wide, generally widest at abdominal segment III/IV (n=20). True margin diaphanous, smooth, but immediately mesad is a row of short, raised corrugations that appear as marginal crenulations in many slide­mounted specimens (Fig. 87–88), about 8–10 per 0.1 mm. Margin is sometimes very subtly modified at apex of each posteriormost and second anteriormost ray, each of which overlies a tracheal fold. Dorsum. Longitudinal moulting suture reaching puparial margin; transverse moulting sutures resembling other intersegmental folds, all terminating in subdorsum; submedian abdominal depressions not evident. Leading mesad from puparial margin are 9 pairs of rays ( Fig. 22), each terminating in a cluster of simple pores, often borne on a shallow tubercle (Fig. 87), the rays and tubercles often variably pigmented, but less distinct when not so. Abdominal segment VII about two­thirds length of segment VI medially ( Fig. 22). Vasiform orifice (Fig. 89) with its sides almost straight, apically truncate and often unevenly trilobate apically, inset from caudal margin by about 3 times its own length ( Fig. 22); operculum a little wider than long, laterally rounded, bearing a pair of posteromarginal setae that are finer than lingular setae; lingula head finely spinulose, slightly emarginate between bases of basal pair of setae and lingular apex, fully occupying posterior part of vasiform orifice. Chaetotaxy. With 15 pairs of fine inner submarginal setae present (Figs 87–88), including nominal caudal pair, each seta about the length of the operculum; single pairs of submedian cephalic, pro­, meso­ and metathoracic present; eighth abdominal submedian setae situated lateral to anterior corners of vasiform orifice (Fig. 89); submedian setae are similar to anterior and posterior marginal setae, all somewhat longer and more robust than submarginal setae. Pores. Compound pores entirely absent. Immediately mesal to outer submarginal crenulations is a single row of dark pores (Figs 87–88), possibly modifications of the 8­shaped type, laterally presenting and appearing shallowly “w”­shaped, about one pore to each pair of crenulations. Dorsal disc with many, fairly evenly distributed, tiny pore/porette geminate pairs (Figs 87–89). Additional to the geminate pore/porette pairs, parts of the rays (mostly distal) are punctuated by somewhat larger pores that are mostly 3­locular (Figs 87–88); loose agglomerations of similar 3­locular pores cover the tubercles usually present at proximal ends of rays, and still more mark median line of the puparium, some of them each clearly with an adjacent porette. Ve n t e r. Ventral abdominal setae each longer than operculum. Caudal tracheal fold only marked distally, by a few fine spinules; a pair of tracheal folds underlie posteriormost pair of dorsal rays, and a thoracic pair underlie the second anteriormost pair of rays, both pairs of folds marked by fine spinules distally. Leg, antennal and rostral characters ( Fig. 22) as in D. bondariae , above.

ADULT. Abdomen of adult female has only two pairs of ventrolateral wax glands, situated at anterior end. Posterior abdominal segment of adult male is elongate cylindrical, around 0.50 mm long, densely covered by simple pores only on dorsal surface; claspers 0.43 mm long, each with a rectangular boss on its inner edge at half­length; aedeagus simple, shallowly curved, 0.25 mm long. Adults rest with their fore wings at right­angles to the body axis, as do the adults of the other two Belizean species of Dialeurodicus . A field note described the living adult thus: body yellow to orangy, with bright orange flecks laterally; wings with brownish clouds and black flecks. For future studies, a few adults were slide­mounted with their wings having been removed prior to maceration, the wings then separately mounted without any chemical treatment.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. Holotype puparium, BELIZE, CFR, Las Cuevas clearing, on Persea americana (Lauraceae) , 10.ii.1996 (J.H.Martin #6633) ( BMNH). Paratypes, BELIZE (all Martin coll.): 76 puparia, 7 third­instar larvae, 1 second­instar larva, 10 adult males, 13 adult females, all from same individual tree as holotype, 02.xii.1994, 10.ii.1996, 02.iii.1996, 11.vi.2002, 20.iii.2003 ( BMNH, BZ, CDFA, USNM); 2 puparia dry on leaf, same data as holotype; 5 puparia dry on leaf, 02.iii.1996 ( BMNH); 11 puparia, 2 thirdinstar larvae, Las Cuevas, on Persea americana (different tree), 10.vi.2004 ( BMNH); 3 puparia, CFR, San Pastor track, on? Nectandra sp. ( Lauraceae ), 22.iii.2003 ( BMNH). Paratypes, NICARAGUA: 26 puparia (1 dry on leaf), 4 second / third­instar larvae, Rio San Juan Province, Rio San Juan / Rio Bartola confluence, on Persea americana , 23.vi.2004 (Martin) ( BMNH).

ETYMOLOGY. This species is named for Rafael De J. Caballero, who provided (1992) a description and illustration which almost certainly represent this species, but where it was not named because of International Commission for Zoological Nomenclature rules on nomenclatural changes within a thesis.

COMMENTS. In addition to the Belizean and Nicaraguan material examined in connection with the description presented here, Caballero (1992) had studied material from Honduras, also from avocado. A small sample of puparia collected from? Nectandra sp. in Belize, indicates a degree of oligophagy in this species.