Aleurotrachelus socialis Bondar, 1923

Martin, Jon H., 2005, Whiteflies of Belize (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) Part 2 - a review of the subfamily Aleyrodinae Westwood, Zootaxa 1098 (1), pp. 1-116 : 23-24

Aleurotrachelus socialis Bondar

(Fig. 98)

Aleurotrachelus socialis Bondar, 1923: 145–146 . Syntypes, Brazil.

DISTRIBUTION. Neotropical Region: Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guyana, Panamá.

COMMENTS. Although described from Cecropia sp. (Moraceae) , A. socialis is the

name applied to the species now particularly known as a pest of yuca crops (cassava, Manihot varieties, Euphorbiaceae ) in Central and South America. The shape of the vasiform orifice varies somewhat between samples: the orifice is a little wider than long in the “typical” cassava form (Fig. 98), but almost square in outline in other cassava samples and on other hosts. However, the characteristic castellate marginal teeth, small dorsal patches of tiny spinules, and rather stout eighth abdominal setae that are longer than the caudal setae are constant characters. The puparia of A. socialis are very similar to those of the palm­feeding A. atratus Hempel , but the puparia of A. atratus are larger and the vasiform orifice is more cordate than in A. socialis .

Although no samples have been seen from cassava in Belize, the vasiform orifice in puparia from other hosts (see Appendix 2) varies from the wider “typical” cassava form to the more square form and this species is tentatively here recorded as occurring in Belize.