Aleurotulus laneus, 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 : 26-27

Aleurotulus laneus sp. nov.

( Figs 9–12 , 101)

PUPARIUM. Habitus. Puparia developing in small aggregations under leaf blades. Each individual secreting dense tangle of fine, translucent, filaments from dorsal surface, and marginal fringe of more­opaque wax rays. Margin. Outline ovoid, 0.90–1.05 mm long, 0.54–0.65 mm wide, generally widest at abdominal segment II/III (n=10). Margin regularly crenulate, 10–11 teeth occupying 0.1 mm, teeth not modified at thoracic tracheal openings. Dorsum. In outer submargin, each marginal tooth with a distinct basal gland, narrower than tooth ( Fig. 10–11 ), ovoid and slightly longer than wide; a pair of subtle folds extending mesad from base of each tooth, between tooth­base glands, folds longer and more robust at posterior end of puparium. Longitudinal moulting suture reaching puparial margin, its middle one­third part distinctly keeled; transverse moulting sutures terminating in subdorsum, opposite median part of abdominal segment I, but their confluence with the longitudinal suture is so far anterior as to be almost contiguous with suture­like meso­metathoracic division. Dorsal disc with cuticle generally rather smooth; cephalic region defined by pair of oblique subdorsal folds; median part of abdomen raised to form rhachis (Fig. 101), with very finely spinulose cuticle; lateral to rhachis, 4 major pairs of folds are directed posteriad at an acute angle to median line of puparium; anterior to these folds a much shorter pair of folds is confluent with raised part of segment I; abdominal segment VII not reduced in length medially. Vasiform orifice ( Fig. 11 ) cordate, slightly elevated, about as long as wide, but fringed posteriorly by a finely rugose “skirt”, giving orifice an apparently trapezoidal outline at lower magnifications, orifice inset from puparial margin by slightly more than its own length; operculum rounded­hexagonal, almost fully occupying vasiform orifice; lingula with head little wider than shaft, globose, surface finely spinulose and bearing 2 apical setae, usually just lingular head extending beyond boundary of vasiform orifice. Pockets (submedian abdominal segment VII/VIII boundary) hardly evident. Chaetotaxy. Posterior marginal setae present, hair­like; anterior marginal setae not always evident but then shorter than posterior pair. Submedian setal pairs ( Fig. 9 ) as follows: cephalic, robust, thickened, often curved, 70 m in holotype; metathoracic, thickened but long and rather ribbon­like, 140 m in holotype; eighth abdominal, extremely broad, dagger­like, apically acute or occasionally bifid (80 m, with one bifid, in holotype, fig. 11); caudal, very long and fine, 150 m in holotype. Outer submargin, between longitudinal moulting suture and a point opposite median part of abdominal segment II, with 7 pairs of tiny setae (the anteriormost 6 pairs depicted in Fig. 10 ), these difficult to see if margin down­curled. Pores. Dorsal disc provided with pore/ porette geminate pairs, themselves fairly regularly paired on each side of body, one or two pairs on each segment of rhachis; outer subdorsum with uneven row of pore/porettes (approximately 17 on each side of puparium in holotype); one tiny porette present immediately mesal to some marginal tooth­base glands ( Fig. 10 ), and slightly further mesad is a row of slightly larger pores (but these pores and porettes not apparently geminate), approximately one pore or porette to each 4–6 tooth­base glands. Venter. Ventral abdominal setae long, fine, similar to posterior marginal pair, underlying mid­point between vasiform orifice and pockets. Each leg with one minute basal spine, often more difficult to see on front legs. Antennal bases anteromesal to fore legs, antennae smoothsided, slightly acute apically and shorter than front legs. Tracheal folds absent.

ADULT FEMALE ( Fig. 12 ). Body 1.2–1.3 mm long (n=6). Antennae 0.35 mm long, 7­segmented, segment II 3X segment I in length; segments III, V, VI & VII each with an elongate uncinula (terminology of Bink­Moenen, 1983), rather thickly seta­like, but that on segment VI much shorter and finer than remainder ( Fig. 12 ); segment III with two, segments V & VII each with one, protuberant subapical sensorium (possibly equivalent to the lachneait of Bink­Moenen’s terminology); segment VII terminating in a process similar in length to remainder of segment. Abdomen with 2 pairs of large ventral wax plates, each about 0.18 mm wide. Wings with venation typical for Aleyrodinae , each with only a simple main vein; fore wings elongate­oval, 2.75 times longer than wide. Vasiform orifice subcircular to ovoid; lingula acute apically, without an obvious pair of apical setae. One tarsal claw clearly larger and thicker than the other on each leg; tarsal paronychium acute­spatulate when viewed laterally, but appearing like a third claw when viewed vertically. [Adult male unknown.]

MATERIAL EXAMINED. Holotype puparium, BELIZE, CFR, on Lasiacis sp. (Poaceae) , 22.iii.2003 (J.H.Martin #7782) ( BMNH). Paratypes: 89 puparia, 29 third­instar larvae, exuviae of 6 second­instar and 2 first­instar larvae, 6 adult females, same data as holotype, or same host and locality, 22.iii.2003, 28.iii.2003 & 05.iv.2003 (Martin) ( BMNH, USNM); dry puparial material on leaf blades, same data as holotype ( BMNH).

ETYMOLOGY. The species name is the latin laneus (meaning woolly), describing the fine, filamentous tangle secreted by each puparium.

COMMENTS. A. laneus is clearly a member of the A. mundururu ­group, differing from A. mundururu Bondar principally in possession of a pair of cephalic setae which are similar to broad, dagger­like, eighth abdominal setae ( A. mundururu has no cephalic setae, and its eighth abdominal setae are long and fine, hair­like), and in the marginal tooth­base glands being longer than wide, more uneven in size than they are in A. mundururu .

Aleurotulus laneus shares its host in the CFR with Aleurocybotus cereus . The puparia of both species are obscured by flocculent secretions and appear quite similar prior to slide­mounting, but are unmistakeable when examined microscopically. The adult females of the two species have very different antennal segments ( Figs 12 , 2 respectively) and microscopic recognition of adults alone should be possible. Adult males of Aleurotulus laneus have not been seen, but are also likely to be easily distinguished from those of Aleurocybotus cereus . Also sharing the same grass host is Trialeurodes abdita (q.v.).

Figures

FIGURES 9–12. Aleurotulus laneus sp. nov. 9, puparium, dorsum (see Fig. 101 for photograph); 10, puparium, cephalothoracic margin and submarginal dorsal detail; 11, puparium, posterior dorsal detail; 12, adult female, antenna, apical flagellar segments.

FIGURES 1–8. Aleurocybotus cereus sp. nov. 1, adult male, antennal apex; 2, adult female, antennal apex; 3, adult female, abdomen, lateral; 4, adult male, abdomen, lateral; 5, adult male, single claw and claw­like?paronychium; 6, adult female, single claw and claw­like?paronychium; 7, puparium, posterior dorsal detail (see Fig. 86 for photograph); 8, puparium, cephalothoracic plate with inner margin of glandular zone indicated by dashed line, and one glandular cluster shown.