The psyllids (Hemiptera: Psylloidea) of Florida: newly established and rarely collected taxa and checklist
Author
Halbert, Susan E.
Division of Plant Industry, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, P. O. Box 147100, Gainesville, Florida 32614 - 7100 USA
Author
Burckhardt, Daniel
Naturhistorisches Museum, Augustinergasse 2, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
text
Insecta Mundi
2020
2020-09-25
2020
788
1
88
journal article
7877
10.5281/zenodo.4564694
cf4856a2-ba4a-4a53-bcf4-9ac3dc863677
1942-1354
4564694
2454C96B-5D17-4162-A3BB-296F5C0DC216
Tetragonocephala flava
Crawford, 1914
(
Fig. 90, 91
)
Materials examined.
USA
:
Florida
: Specimens from
Alachua, Miami-Dade, and Volusia
counties (
FSCA
, dry mounted, ethanol, envelope with dried leaves and lerps).
Figures 90, 91.
Tetragonocephala flava
.
90)
Adult.
91)
Fifth instar immature and lerps. (Photos by Jeff Lotz, FDACS-DPI).
Diagnosis.
Tetragonocephala flava
can be recognized by the lerps on
Celtis
leaves (
Fig. 91
). Lerps are clam shell shaped and open on the side. They are attached to the undersides of the leaves, often near forks in the leaf veins. Adults resemble the more common
Pachypsylla
species, but they are pale and have six dark spots on the mesonotum and one at the posterior tip of the scutellum (
Fig. 90
).
Distribution.
Tetragonocephala flava
was described from the southern tip of Texas and is known from
Mexico
(
Ouvrard 2020
). Its long presence in Florida, lack of serious damage to hosts, and the presence of a native parasite suggests that it is native to Florida. However, it possibly is adventive in Louisiana, where there was an outbreak that caused serious damage to the trees (
Solomon et al. 1997
).
Florida
distribution information.
Tetragonocephala flava
was recognized in
Florida
for the first time in
April 1997
on
Celtis laevigata
Willd.
in Oak Hill (Volusia County) (FSCA# E1997-1214) (
Halbert 1997b
). Collectors were Avas Hamon, Ru Nguyen, Kenneth Hibbard, and L.J. Chambliss. Previously unrecognized specimens from
Florida
in the FSCA go back to 1957, when a specimen was collected at Snapper Creek Boy Scout Camp (Miami- Dade County) by sweeping
Celtis
. The exact date is unclear on the label, and no collector is mentioned. We have records, but no specimens, from Jacksonville (Duval County) collected
15.viii.1997
(FSCA# E1997-3281), Lake Jem (Lake County) collected
28.vii.1997
(FSCA# E1997-3438). The most recent collection was in Ft. Myers (Lee County) in
June 2005
, consisting of 6 empty lerps (FSCA# E2005-2972).
Host plants.
Celtis laevigata
Willd. (Cannabaceae)
.
Comments.
In
Louisiana
, major dieback of stands of
C.
laevigata
was attributed to high populations of
T.
flava
(
Solomon et al. 1997
)
. In
Florida
, no similar destruction of trees was observed, possibly because of a native parasite,
Aprostocetus gelastus
(Burks, 1943) (Eulophidae)
, that controlled psyllid populations (
Halbert 1997a
). More recently, the Asian aphid,
Shivaphis celti
Das, 1918
, (
Aphididae
) has become established on
C.
laevigata
in
Florida
(
Halbert et al. 2000
). This aphid is very abundant and may prevent build-up of populations of
T.
flava
, which, based on submitted samples, has been rare since the establishment of
S.
celti
in
Florida
.
Rhinocolinae Vondráček, 1957
Tainarys
Brèthes, 1920