The New Zealand Aleyrodidae (Hemiptera: Homoptera ) 1 
L. J. Dumbleton 2 
The pioneer worker on the New Zealand 
Aleyrodidae was W. M. Masked, who also 
described species from all over the world. 
The Masked collection of Aleyrodidae is 
therefore an important one. It has recently 
been returned to New Zealand after having 
been on loan to the Bureau of Entomology 
of the United States Department of Agricul- 
ture for many years and is now, together with 
the equally important Masked collection of 
Coccidae, in the collection of the Entomo- 
logical Research Station of the Department 
of Scientific and Industrial Research at Nelson. 
It is desirable that Masked’s species should 
be redescribed. This task has been facilitated 
by the location of Masked’s unmounted du- 
plicate material of some species and the col- 
lection of others from the field. In addition 
to Masked’s species there is one New Zealand 
species described by Takahashi (1937). Two 
species are described as new. 
Considerable confusion has centered around 
Masked’s genus Asterochiton , though this has 
been clarified, in so far as it affects the genus 
Trialeurodes, by Russell (1948). 
Masked (1879) described the first Aleyro- 
dids from New Zealand. These were lecani- 
oides (which has page precedence) and aureus , 
for which two species he created a new genus 
Asterochiton , placing it in error as a Cocci d 
genus. No genotype was designated and it 
1 Work performed, in part, while a member of the 
Entomological Research Station, D.S.I.R., Nelson. 
Manuscript received February 8, 1956. 
2 Canterbury Agricultural College, Christchurch, 
New Zealand. 
is doubtful if his definition of the genus, 
"characterised by enclosure in a test,’’ is an 
adequate generic prescription. The figure and 
description of aureus is quite recognisable, 
while that of lecanioides suggests Trialeurodes 
vaporariorum Westw. Masked (1880) recog- 
nised his error and removed his two species 
of Asterochiton from the Coccidae to the Aley- 
rodidae. In 1890 (pp. 175-176) he repeats the 
correction and, apparently considering that 
the genus Asterochiton was invalidated or un- 
necessary, discontinued its use in favour of 
Aleurodes. The species lecanioides he stated to 
have been based on material containing two 
species, which he now described as Aleyrodes 
papillifer and A. simplex. The name lecanioides 
should have remained valid in reference to the 
vaporariorumAke. species which he first de- 
scribed. Apparently considering that the in- 
validation of the genus Asterochiton also 
invalidated the species aureus he discarded 
this name and redescribed and named the 
same species as Aleurodes melicyti. In the same 
year he described Aleurodes asplenii and A.fagi. 
In 1896 he described A. cerata and A. fodiens. 
Cockerell (1902) listed Maskell’s species 
and stated that papillifer was a synonym of 
lecanioides and melicyti was a synonym of 
aureus. He revived Maskell’s name Astero- 
chiton as a sub genus of Aleyrodes , defined the 
subgenus, and cited aureus as the genotype. 
He also stated that lecanioides did not belong 
to the subgenus Asterochiton as defined by 
him. He defined the subgenus Trialeurodes 
and nominated pergandei Quaintance as the: 
genotype. 
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