Need identification

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colohank
Posts: 113
Joined: Sat Jul 24, 2021 6:07 pm
Location: Fruita, Colorado, USA

Need identification

Post by colohank »

I found this little critter clinging to the underside of a Hackberry leaf in my western Colorado backyard. It's just a speck, measuring only 1mm in length overall.

Sorry for the lousy photo. The leaf was drying out and curling up I shot the stack, so I was dealing with a moving target.

I have no idea what it is and wouldn't even know where to begin looking.

Can anyone here give it a name? If not, I'll be content to call it a splash bug, since it appears to have just plunged into a miniature kiddy pool.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Hank
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Scarodactyl
Posts: 1617
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2018 10:26 am

Re: Need identification

Post by Scarodactyl »

Nice shot! It looks like some sort of scale insect to me, but I imagine one of the experts will have a much better idea.

colohank
Posts: 113
Joined: Sat Jul 24, 2021 6:07 pm
Location: Fruita, Colorado, USA

Re: Need identification

Post by colohank »

Mystery solved. I'd sought help from my youngest son, who has a degree in horticulture and works as an urban forester. He, in turn, sent the picture to a former entomology professor. Answer: it's the pupa of a Mulberry White fly (Tetraleuodes mori).

rjlittlefield
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Re: Need identification

Post by rjlittlefield »

colohank wrote:
Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:36 am
it's the pupa of a Mulberry White fly (Tetraleuodes mori).
Nice image! And very nice to have an ID.

I wonder if there is a typo in the name -- a missing "r". Internet search finds nothing for "Tetraleuodes mori", but lots of matching images for Tetraleurodes mori .

By the way, https://bygl.osu.edu/node/763 clarifies that these whiteflies are in order Hemiptera, with incomplete metamorphosis, so these "pupae" are really final stage nymphs with unusual terminology:
The 4th instar nymphs molt into the winged and reproductive adult stage. Somewhere along the way, 4th instar whitefly nymphs became known as "pupae" which can create confusion because only insects with complete metamorphosis (e.g. flies, butterflies, beetles, etc.) have a true pupal stage. However, entomologists refer to the unusual looking 4th instar mulberry whitefly nymphs found by the Walk-About participants as "pupae" (singular = pupa). It's important to note that mulberry whiteflies aren't the only whitefly species with unusual looking pupae. In fact, whitefly pupae are often used to identify the whitefly species owing to their settled lifestyle and unique appearances.
--Rik

colohank
Posts: 113
Joined: Sat Jul 24, 2021 6:07 pm
Location: Fruita, Colorado, USA

Re: Need identification

Post by colohank »

Yep, I missed an R.

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