Abstract
A new whitefly genus, Rudisculptus gen. nov. is described for its type species Rudisculptus caudalis gen. et sp. nov. feeding on Orophea katschallica Kurz (Annonaceae) from the Andaman Islands, India. Rudisculptus gen. nov. is similar to the New World genus, Aleuropleurocelus Drews & Sampson, 1956 and an Old World genus, Tetralicia Harrison, 1917 in pupal morphology, but differs in having the first abdominal setae, thoracic tracheal pores, caudal furrow, differentiated cephalothorax in slide mounts, the lingula excluded beyond the vasiform orifice. The new genus also differs from an Old World genus, Regiominutus Dubey, 2021 in habitus, pattern of wax secretion, shape, size, cuticle colour, raised lateral margin, extension of segment sutures and the lingula reaching outside the margin of the vasiform orifice, and in having the thoracic tracheal folds. Orophea katschallica is recorded as a new host plant for the whiteflies. Images of puparial habitus and types, line drawings and scanning electron microscope (SEM) microphotographs are provided.
Highlights
Whiteflies are phloem sap-sucking insects and they are mainly identified using the fourth nymphal stage called ‘puparium’
Puparia of the new species were dissected and scanning electron microscope (SEM) imagings were done for observing the surface morphology to differentiate it from the related genera, Aleuropleurocelus and Tetralicia
Martin (1999) provided a generic diagnosis for Tetralicia with a remark “If this character is of truly generic significance, the two [Tetralicia and Aleuropleurocelus] may prove to be synonyms, because small numbers of species with this feature are found throughout the world”
Summary
Whiteflies are phloem sap-sucking insects and they are mainly identified using the fourth nymphal stage called ‘puparium’. Whiteflies show a clear geographical isolation at the subfamily level, and endemism to particular geographical regions at the genus level; a few genera are widespread or cosmopolitan (Dubey 2020). The family Aleyrodidae Chou, 1963 includes 1705 species belonging to 192 genera and devided across four subfamilies including one fossil Bernaeinae Shcherbakov, 2000 (Evans et al in press). There are 469 species belonging to 71 genera known from India (Sundararaj et al 2021). The pupal morphology of a new whitefly, collected on an endemic plant, Orophea katschallica Kurz (Annonaceae) from the Andaman Islands, India is assessed with its congeners. Puparial morphological features of the new species differentiating it from related genera entail the erection of a new genus, Rudisculptus gen.
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