Ceroplastes ceriferus ( Fabricius, 1798 )

Choi, Jinyeong, Soysouvanh, Pheophanh, Lee, Seunghwan & Hong, Ki-Jeong, 2018, Review of the family Coccidae (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) in Laos, Zootaxa 4460 (1), pp. 1-62 : 12

Ceroplastes ceriferus ( Fabricius, 1798)

( Figs 6 , 7 )

Coccus ceriferus Fabricius, 1798: 546 .

Diagnosis. Body covered with thick white wax forming a distinct dorsal horn at maturity ( Fig. 6A ). Dorsum with Ceroplastes - type pores of 4 types present: mono-, bi-, tri- and quadrilocular pores ( Fig. 7B ); bi- or trilocular pores abundant; anal plates each with 4 apical setae; and dorsal setae variable, usually blunt, evenly distributed on dorsum except for clear areas ( Fig. 7A ). Marginal setae spinose, each with a pointed apex; with 2–4 setae present between anterior and posterior stigmatic clefts ( Fig. 7K ). Stigmatic clefts shallow, each with conical or bulletshaped stigmatic spines, arranged in a triangular area composed of about 6 setal rows ( Figs 6C , 7C ). Venter with multilocular disc-pores present on all abdominal segments, with a few pores present laterad of meta-, meso- and procoxa ( Fig. 7F ); tubular ducts each with a very narrow inner ductule, present on submarginal area of posterior abdomen and head ( Fig. 7G ); antenna 6 segmented ( Figs 6D , 7L ); and legs without tibio-tarsal articulatory scleroses ( Figs 6E , 7H ) (partially adopted from Hodgson & Peronti 2012).

Material examined. 4 ♀♀, LAOS, Paksong Dist., Champasak Prov., 30.vii.2016, coll. P.P. Soysouvanh, on Persea americana Mill. (Lauraceae) .

Hosts. Polyphagous. According to ScaleNet ( García Morales et al. 2016), C. ceriferus has been recorded from plants belonging to 80 genera in 52 families. In Laos, it has been recorded on Dracaena sp. ( Asparagaceae ) and Ficus sp. ( Moraceae ) ( Suh & Bombay 2015).

Distribution. All zoogeographical regions; Oriental Region ( India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam) ( Suh & Bombay 2015; García Morales et al. 2016).

Economic importance. Although C. ceriferus may be not a serious pest, some authors note that it can cause damage to numerous ornamental plants by producing honeydew, which fosters the development of sooty mold ( Williams & Kosztarab 1972; Hamon & Williams 1984; Hodgson & Henderson 2000). Sooty mold blocks light and air from the leaves, impairing photosynthesis.

Remarks. Ceroplastes ceriferus is closely related to C. pseudoceriferus Green , as indicated by only a narrow genetic distance in the DNA barcode region of COI ( Deng et al. 2012; Lee et al. 2012); but these species differ morphologically in the number of marginal setae. Ceroplastes ceriferus has fewer than 15 slender marginal setae between the anterior stigmatic clefts, and about 3 marginal setae between the anterior and posterior stigmatic clefts on each side; whereas C. pseudoceriferus has about 40 marginal setae between the anterior stigmatic clefts, and about 10 marginal setae between the anterior and posterior stigmatic clefts on each side ( Gimpel et al. 1974; Hodgson & Peronti 2012).

Figures

FIGURE 6. Ceroplastes ceriferus (Fabricius, 1798). A, adult female in life; B, slide-mounted adult female; C, stigmatic spines; D, antenna; E, leg. Scale lines for B = 0.5 mm; C = 50 µm; D, E = 100 µm.

FIGURE 7. Ceroplastes ceriferus (Fabricius, 1798), adult female, from Gimpel et al. (1974). A1-3, dorsal setae; B1-4, Ceroplastes-type pores; C, stigmatic spine; D, simple microduct; E, submarginal seta; F, multilocular disc-pore; G, ventral tubular duct; H, leg; I, cruciform pore; J, spiracular disc-pore; K, marginal seta; L, antenna.