A review of neococcid scale insects (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccomorpha) based on the morphology of the adult males
Author
Hodgson, Chris
text
Zootaxa
2020
2020-04-16
4765
1
1
264
journal article
22494
10.11646/zootaxa.4765.1.1
8af5a092-f062-48c7-8d7c-f96ae6282bfa
1175-5334
3774174
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C442D94C-0EB4-4509-B762-913707214819
Callococcus
Ferris 1918
Callococcus
Ferris 1918: 328
.
Type
species:
Sphaerococcus pulchellus
Maskell
by monotypy and original designation.
Introduction.
The generic name
Callococcus
was introduced by Ferris in 1918 to take
Sphaerococcus pulchellus
Maskell
, at that time the only species placed in the genus, which was then considered to belong to the
Asterolecaniidae
. Later,
Morrison and Morrison (1927)
revised the genus, transferred 2 more of Maskell’s
Sphaerococcus
species to
Callococcus
, namely
S. acaciae
Maskell 1893
and
S. leptospermi
Maskell 1894
, but retained
Callococcus
within the
Asterolecaniidae
. However, the
type
species of the genus
Sphaerococcus
(
S. casuarinae
Maskell 1892
) belongs to the
Pseudococcidae
and so the species previously placed in
Sphaerococcus
Maskell
were reviewed by
Miller
et al
. (1998)
and most were transferred to other families and genera. Miller
et al
.’s revision confirmed the placement of
S. acaciae
and
S. leptospermi
in
Callococcus
and transferred
S. newmanni
Froggatt 1921
to it. Miller
et al
. also placed
Callococcus
Ferris
within the
Eriococcidae
. The genus therefore now contains 4 species, all from mainland
Australia
. The adult male of
C. leptospermi
(Maskell)
is redescribed below and it is clear that the males of this species are very similar to those of other Gondwanan eriococcids and therefore that the placement within the
Eriococcidae
is correct.
The adult male of
C. leptospermi
Maskell
was first described by
Coles
et al
. (1988)
. They found that the secondinstar female nymphs of
C. leptospermi
induced woody galls on the stems of
Leptospermum laevigatum
in
Australia
(
South Australia
,
New South Wales
and
Victoria
). These galls varied in size, ranging from
8–25 mm
long and
6–12 mm
thick. Young galls are usually closed and firm, but when old or parasitized, a longitudinal slit appears on one side that allows dispersal of the crawlers and (presumably) copulation. The second-instar males settle either on the exterior of the parent gall or nearby in the axil of a twig or bud scale (
Coles
et al
. 1988
).
Generic diagnosis based on adult male morphology of
C. leptospermi
(described below) (
Fig. 26
)
Body
with abdomen attenuated and telescoping, narrowing gradually to style; body setae extremely few, almost all hs; loculate and simple pores absent.
Head:
dorsal mid-cranial ridge absent; postoccipital ridge well developed, with both anterior and posterior arms;
genae with a few hs
; ocular sclerite with very few concentric striations around simple eyes;
antennae 8 segmented
; flagellar segments with both hs and fs,
latter rather short and stout
;
1-4 capitate setae present on several antennal segments in addition to apical segment
.
Thorax:
prosternal median ridge absent; prescutum without prescutal setae; scutal and scutellar setae present;
postmesospiracular setae present
; metasternum with few setae; metaprecoxal ridge present;
hamulohalteres absent; alar lobe and alar setae absent
;
trochanter with campaniform sensilla in a line on each side
; fs absent from tibia and tarsi;
tarsi 1 segmented
; claw digitules capitate; claws with a denticle.
Abdomen
:
segments telescoping when not extended, but extremely elongate when extended
;
glandular pouches absent
; abdominal segment IX with 2 pairs of short setae; style with hs and fs; style triangular and short, becoming sharply pointed posteriorly.