The Scale Insects Of Iran (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) Part 3 The Soft Scales (Coccidae) And Other Families Author Moghaddam, Masumeh Department of Insect Taxonomy Research, Iranian Research Institute of Plant Protection, Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organisation, Tehran, Iran. Author Watson, Gillian W. 0000-0001-9914-0094 Department of Insect Taxonomy Research, Iranian Research Institute of Plant Protection, Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organisation, Tehran, Iran. & Science: Research, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW 7 5 BD, U. K. gillian. watson @ nhm. ac. uk; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0001 - 9914 - 0094 * Corresponding author. moghadam @ iripp. ir; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0003 - 0908 - 838 X & Department of Insect Taxonomy Research, Iranian Research Institute of Plant Protection, Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organisation, Tehran, Iran. gillian.watson@nhm.ac.uk text Zootaxa 2024 2024-11-29 5542 1 1 202 https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5542.1.1 journal article 10.11646/zootaxa.5542.1.1 1175-5334 14385386 2DB3A5B7-4292-4CD9-B6D8-FA97EB48DD16 Orthezia urticae (Linnaeus) ( Fig. 85 , distribution map Fig. 91F ) Aphis urticae Linnaeus, 1758: 453 . Orthezia urticae (Linnaeus) ; Signoret 1876b: 389 . Field characters: Live adult female body ovoid; dorsum covered by 6 rows of wax plates, but without plates at midline; fully developed ovisac longer than body. Microscopic diagnosis: Slide-mounted adult female body oval. Antennae each with 8 segments. Eye stalks elongate conical, bearing 1 or 2 distinct lateral tubercles. Legs well developed; claws each with 2, rarely 3 small denticles. Atrium of each thoracic spiracle surrounded by a conspicuous collar of spines. Abdominal spiracles numbering 8 pairs. Distribution: Orthezia urticae is a Palaearctic species that has been recorded from 40 countries ( García Morales et al . 2016 ); in Iran , it has been recorded from the provinces of Ardebil , Azarbaijan -e Gharbi, Azarbaijan -e Shargi, Bushehr , Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari, Esfahan , Fars , Ghazvin, Golestan , Hamadan , Hormozgan , Ilam , Kerman , Kermanshah , Khorasan -e Jounobi, Khorasan -e Razavi, Khorasan -e Shomali, Khouzestan, Kohgiluyeh & Boryerahmad, Kordestan , Lorestan , Markazai, Sistan & Balouchestan, and Zanjan ( Moghaddam 2013 ). Host-plants: The species is polyphagous, having been recorded on host-plants in 88 genera belonging to 31 families ( García Morales et al . 2016 ); in Iran , it has been found on Eryngium bungei ( Apiaceae ); Achillea millefolium , Artemisia sp. , Echinops ritro and Gundelia sp. ( Asteraceae ), Astragalus sp. ( Fabaceae ) and Daphne mucronata ( Thymelaeaceae ) ( Moghaddam 2013 ). Economic importance: Orthezia urticae is of no economic importance in Iran . Natural enemies: None recorded in Iran .