Paraleyrodes minei Iaccarino

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 : 67

Paraleyrodes minei Iaccarino

( Figs 48, 110–111)

Paraleyrodes minei Iaccarino, 1990: 132 –149. Holotype (adult male), Syria.

DISTRIBUTION. Neotropical Region — Belize, Guatemala, Mexico, Puerto Rico; Nearctic Region — Bermuda, California, Florida, Texas; Palaearctic Region — Lebanon, Morocco, Spain, Syria, Turkey; Ethiopian Region — Benin; Oriental Region — Hong Kong.

COMMENTS. Although this species was described from citrus crops in Syria, all Paraleyrodes species are native to the Neotropical Region. P. m i n e i is now often called the nesting whitefly, but this name should be used with caution, because it describes the waxdeposition habits of females of many, possibly all, members of this genus.

As can be seen from the currently recorded distribution, above, P. m i n e i is clearly a mobile species. It was discovered by the author on several host plants in Hong Kong (2003, BMNH), the first records of this species occurring in Asia. Two puparia from Hong Kong were collected from a grass blade, Miscanthus sinensis , and an adult female emerged from each of these. Also, further adult females were observed nearby, on the same grass, with the presence of eggs and much secreted wax indicating further colonisation. This may be the first record of any member of the Aleurodicinae developing on a poaceous host, and is most notable.

In Belize, several puparia ( Fig. 48) have been studied, and the characteristic male aedeagus (Fig. 110) has been seen in one fully­developed adult male and one pre­emergence male dissected from its puparium, thereby confirming the occurrence of this species in Belize.