Jowita Drohojowska

A new whitefly from Lower Cretaceous Lebanese amber (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Aleyrodidae)

Baetylus kahramanus gen. et sp.n. from Lower Cretaceous Lebanese amber is described, based on an adult male specimen. It is the second representative of subfamily Aleyrodinae (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Aleyrodidae) and the third aleyrodid from this fossil resin. Morphological features of the new genus and species are discussed as well as evolutionary and biogeographic importance of this fossil.

New Aleyrodidae (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Aleyrodomorpha) from Eocene Baltic amber

New Aleyrodidae (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Aleyrodomorpha) from Eocene Baltic amber A new genus and species of whitefly from Eocene Baltic amber is described. Paernis gregorius gen. et sp. n. is placed in the subfamily Aleurodicinae. Other findings of Aleyrodidae including ‘Aleyrodes’ aculeatus Menge, 1856 from Baltic amber are discussed.

Talaya batraba gen. et sp. nov. – the First Nymph of a Protopsyllidiid (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Psyllomorpha) from the Lower Cretaceous Amber of Lebanon

A hemipteran nymph of the sternorrhynchan lineage, placed in the family Protopsyllidiidae is the first found in the fossil record, based on an inclusion in amber from the Lower Cretaceous of Hammana / Mdeyrij, Abeih Formation, Central Lebanon. Based on distinctive features such as a median dorsal elevation and the presence of a large, conical, exposed, setiferous anal tube, the fossil is placed in Talaya batraba gen. et sp. nov. and the newly erected taxon is compared to known nymphs of extinct Protopsyllidiidae. The evolutionary traits of the family and its relatives are considered.

A swarm of whiteflies—the first record of gregarious behavior from Eocene Baltic amber

A new whitefly Snotra christelae gen. et sp. n. is characterized, illustrated, and described from the Baltic amber. It represents the first record of gregarious behavior of Aleyrodinae (Aleyrodidae) whiteflies in fossil state. Implications of this finding on interpretation of whiteflies and their host-plant relationships and evolutionary traits of the group are discussed.

Thorax morphology of selected species of the genus Cacopsylla (Hemiptera, Psylloidea)

Abstract The paper concerns with characteristics of a thorax morphological structure Cacopsylla Ossiannilsson, 1970 species, referring to an analysis of five species classified in the past in three subgenera. The structure of the sternites, tergites and pleurites of all the parts of the thorax was studied by a scanning microscope. Descriptions of particular elements building up thorax plates, their shape, size and links as well as a course of all the clefts and sulcus are provided. The study of thorax morphology of Cacopsylla species suggests that the thorax morphology is relatively homogenous within a genus.

Revision of the neotropical jumping plant-louse genus Mastigimas (Hemiptera, Psylloidea) attacking Cedrela and Toona species (Meliaceae).

The small Neotropical genus Mastigimas with five described species is revised. Three new species are added: Mastigimas colombianus sp. n. from Colombia on Cedrela montana, M. drepanodis sp. n. from Brazil (Paraná) on C. fissilis and M. reseri sp. n. from Jamaica collected in light traps. Another two species are recorded from Brazil and Colombia, respectively, which are not formally described due to insufficient material. The new species are described, and illustrations and identification keys are provided for all species. The last instar immatures are described for five species. The phylogeny within Mastigimas is analysed, and the biogeographic and host plant relationships are discussed.

The jumping plant-lice (Hemiptera: Psylloidea) of the Tatra National Park

The jumping plant-lice (Hemiptera: Psylloidea) of the Tatra National Park The article provides a list of jumping plant lice of the Tatra National Park (TNP). Field studies were conducted in the years 2001-2007 at 27 sites. Insects were collected by sweeping, beating and visually inspecting the host plants. Psyllids of 46 species of 13 genera of Psyllidae and Triozidae were recorded. This number of species comprises nearly 50% of the Polish fauna of psyllids. Three species were recorded from Poland for the first time.

First Psylloidea (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha) in Miocene Mexican amber

The first psyllid, Tuthillia danielburckhardti sp. nov. from early Middle Miocene Mexican amber is described and illustrated.KurzfassungEs wird der erste Blattfloh, Tuthillia danielburckhardti sp. nov., aus dem Mexikanischen Bernstein (frühes Mittel-Miozän) beschrieben und abgebildet.

Development of ovary structures in the last larval and adult stages of psyllids (Insecta, Hemiptera, Sternorrhyncha: Psylloidea).

The development and organization of the ovaries of ten species from four Psylloidea families (Psyllidae, Triozidae, Aphalaridae and Liviidae) have been investigated. The ovaries of the last larval stage (i.e. fifth instar) of all examined species are filled with numerous clusters of cystocytes which undergo synchronous incomplete mitotic division. Cystocytes of the given cluster are arranged into a rosette with polyfusome in the centre. These clusters are associated with single somatic cells. At the end of the fifth instar, the clusters begin to separate from each other, forming spherical ovarioles which are surrounded by a single layer of somatic cells. In the ovarioles of very young females all cystocytes enter the prophase of meiosis and differentiate shortly thereafter into oocytes and trophocytes (nurse cells). Meanwhile, somatic cells differentiate into cells of the inner epithelial sheath surrounding the trophocytes and into the prefollicular cells that encompass the oocytes. During this final differentiation, the trophocytes lose their cell membranes and become syncytial. Oocytes remain cellular and most of them (termed arrested oocytes) do not grow. In the ovarioles of older females, one oocyte encompassed by its follicle cells starts growing, still connected to the syncytial tropharium by a nutritive cord. After the short phase of previtellogenesis alone, the oocyte enters its vitellogenic the growth phase in the vitellarium. At that time, the second oocyte may enter the vitellarium and start its previtellogenic growth. In the light of the obtained results, the phylogeny of psyllids, as well as phylogenetic relationships between taxa of Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha are discussed.

New genus and species of Aleyrodidae from Eocene Baltic amber (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Aleyrodomorpha)

Abstract A new genus Rovnodicus gen. n., with new species Rovnodicus wojciechowskii sp. n. is described from Eocene Rovno amber, Ukraine. It is placed in the subfamily Aleurodicinae. It is the first whitefly from this fossil source. Its morphological features and taxonomic position with respect to other Aleurodicinae from the Eocene are briefly discussed. The article outlines the influences of this finding on discussions of the origin, age and taxonomic similarities between Baltic amber from Ukraine and that from the Gulf of Gdańsk and Bitterfeld as well as on palaeoecological reconstructions of the fossil site. The name ‘Aleurochiton eozaenicus Weigelt 1940’, mentioned as the fossil puparium of a whitefly from the Middle Eocene Geiseltal Fossillagerstätte appears to be nomen nudum.