Trialeurolonga, 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 : 60-61

TRIALEUROLONGA gen. nov.

Type species Trialeurolonga trifida sp. nov.

DIAGNOSIS ­ PUPARIUM (Figs 75–81). Large puparia, with pale cuticle, not feeding gregariously. Margin finely crenulate, modified at tracheal openings. Submargin with glandular papillae. Dorsal chaetotaxy limited to paired submedian cephalothoracic, first and eighth abdominal and caudal setae. Longitudinal and transverse moulting sutures reaching, or almost reaching, puparial margin, cephalothoracic plates often lost in postemergence pupal cases. Vasiform orifice at least as wide as long, operculum obscuring lingular characters. Abdominal segment VII not significantly reduced in length medially. With geminate pore/porettes regularly distributed over dorsum. Ventral cuticle diaphanous, tracheal folds marked but not sculptured.

ETYMOLOGY. The chosen generic name reflects the combination of puparial characters that suggest affinities with both Trialeurodes and Dialeurolonga .

COMMENTS. The presence of a submarginal row of glandular papillae is a character that is shared by species of Trialeurodes and many species of Dialeurolonga . However, the structure of these papillae in the type species of Trialeurolonga (see below) differs from those in Trialeurodes and Dialeurolonga . The nature of the modification of the puparial margin at the tracheal openings, the transverse moulting sutures reaching the puparial margin, and the unreduced median length of abdominal segment VII are characters shared with Dialeurolonga but not with Trialeurodes . However, the rather faintly­marked and unsculptured ventral tracheal folds are more typical for Trialeurodes than Dialeurolonga , but the general size and shape of the puparia would be unusual in Trialeurodes but more typical in Dialeurolonga . The form of the vasiform orifice, with the operculum completely obscuring the lingular characters, is not seen in either Trialeurodes or Dialeurolonga . The nature of the submarginal papillae, along with the obscured lingula, modified margin at the tracheal openings, and long and closely­adjacent caudal setae suggest affinities with the Australasian/Pacific genus Orchamoplatus ( Russell, 1958) .

Only one species from Belize appears to belong to this new genus, and is described below. Its suite of characters do not appear to match those of any neotropical genera described to date.