Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) is considered to be the most economically important pest insect worldwide. The invasive variant, the Q biotype of B. tabaci was first identified in 2004, and has caused significant crop yield losses in Japan. The distribution and molecular characterization of the different biotypes of B. tabaci in Japan have been little investigated. In this study, B. tabaci populations were sampled from the Japanese Archipelago, the Amami Archipelago and the Ryukyu Islands between 2004 and 2008, and the nucleotide sequences of their mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I genes were determined. Bayesian phylogenetic relationship analysis provided the first molecular evidence that the indigenous Japanese populations could be separated into four distinct genetic groups. One major native population from the Japanese Archipelago, given the genetic group name Lonicera japonica, was separated into an independent group, distinct from the other genetic groups. The second major population, the Nauru biotype in the Asia II genetic group, was identified in the Amami Archipelago and the Ryukyu Islands. Two distinct minor genetic groups, the Asia I and the China, were also identified. One invasive B‐related population belonging to the Mediterranean/Asia Minor/Africa genetic group has been identified in Honshu. All lineages generated by the phylogenetic analyses were supported by high posterior probabilities. These distinct indigenous B. tabaci populations developed in Japan under geographical and/or biological isolation, prior to recent invasions of the B and Q biotypes.

The citrus spiny whitefly Aleurocanthus spiniferus (Quaintance) is a pest of citrus plants that is native to South-East Asia. Although serious outbreaks of the tea-infesting whitefly in China, Taiwan and Japan have been attributed to this species over the last 20 years, recent research has shown different host preferences between the two whiteflies. Hence, the two pests have tentatively been differentiated as tea-infesting and citrus-infesting populations. We further compared morphological, acoustic and genomic features between the two populations in Japan. Morphological differences were recognised in the arrangement of spines, porettes and papillae on the dorsal disc and number of marginal crenulations and marginal waxy fringe of 4 th -instar nymphs, as well as wing maculation and genitalic organs of adults. In courtship behaviour, the acoustic properties of male vibratory signals also differed between the two. Furthermore, genetic analysis of mtCOI sequences (759 bp) showed that the tea-infesting population was clearly distinct from the citrus-infesting group, with high bootstrap values. The mtCOI sequence identities were 76.2% between the two populations. Genetic differentiation between the two populations was shown by the high value (0.99650) of pairwise Fst, indicating the sexual isolation of the two populations. Consequently, these two populations are regarded as different representatives, consisting of a sibling relationship, but clearly distinguished from each other as independent genomic populations. Here, we describe the tea-infesting population and propose a new scientific name, Aleurocanthus camelliae Kanmiya & Kasai sp. nov., and a new common name, camellia spiny whitefly, thus distinguishing it from A. spiniferus (Quaintance), the citrus spiny whitefly that constitutes the citrus-infesting population.

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A serious citrus pest, the ash whitefly, Siphoninus phillyreae Haliday, was first recorded in Honshu and Kyushu, Japan. The favored host plant is pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) from early summer to autumn. The adults migrate to a hedge plant (Photinia glabra (Thumb.) Maxim.) or rarely to a citrus plant (Citrus natsudaidai Hayata) before pomegranates shed their leaves in winter. Another citrus pest, the woolly whitefly, Aleurothrixus floccosus Maskell, was found from Nansei Islands to north of Tokunoshima Is., Japan. The distribution of these two pests and diagnostic features were detailed. Substrate-borne vibratory sounds produced during mating were elucidated, including new findings of male and female communication by reciprocal sound signals. It is suggested that the species-specific bioacoustic signals preserve useful information for the whitefly biosystematics of economic importance.