Trialeurodes variabilis (Quaintance), 1915

Martin, Jon H., 2005, Whiteflies of Belize (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) Part 2 - a review of the subfamily Aleyrodinae Westwood, Zootaxa 1098 (1), pp. 1-116 : 60

Trialeurodes variabilis (Quaintance)

(Figs 69, 131)

Aleurodes variabilis Quaintance, 1900: 39–41 . Syntypes, USA (Florida).

Trialeurodes variabilis (Quaintance) Quaintance & Baker, 1915 : xi.

DISTRIBUTION. Neotropical Region: Belize, Brazil, Ecuador, and widely distributed across the Caribbean and Central America; Nearctic Region: USA (Florida).

COMMENTS. T. variabilis is a species with exceptionally small puparia in which the papillae are almost, or even entirely, wanting. Although six genera of plant hosts (each in a different family) were recorded by Mound & Halsey (1978), material in BMNH clearly indicates that Carica papaya is a favoured host plant for this species.