Icerya crocea Green, 1896

Unruh, Corinne M. & Gullan, Penny J., 2008, Identification guide to species in the scale insect tribe Iceryini (Coccoidea: Monophlebidae), Zootaxa 1803 (1), pp. 1-106 : 79-80

Icerya crocea Green

Icerya crocea Green, 1896: 7 . Incorrectly synonymized with Icerya seychellarum by Green (1922: 440); status revalidated by Unruh & Gullan (2008: 41) .

Unmounted material. Body of adult female reddish-orange; dorsum covered with bright yellow mealy wax, with double marginal series of yellow waxy tufts and numerous delicate silky filaments (adapted from Green, 1896).

Slide-mounted material. Adult female oval to elliptical (lectotype 5.1 mm long, 3.7 mm wide). Antennae 11 segmented. Eyes, mouthparts and legs as for tribe. Thoracic spiracles as for genus. Open-centre pores, each 25–28 µm in diameter, 15 µm long, with 18–20 outer loculi, cleft absent or very rare, present in marginal clusters and dorsal transverse rows; smaller open-centre pores, 15–20 µm in diameter, with 12–16 outer loculi may be present on head margin. Simple multilocular pores, each with large bilocular centre and 6–10 outer loculi, covering dorsal surface. Ovisac band made of simple multilocular pores of two types: (i) larger pores forming inner ovisac band 3–5 pores wide, each pore 10–12 µm in diameter, with bilocular centre and 6–10 outer loculi, and (ii) slightly smaller pores forming outer ovisac band 2–4 pores wide, each pore 9–10 µm in diameter, with bilocular to trilocular centre and 6–8 outer loculi. Simple multilocular pores, each 7–8 µm in diameter, with bilocular centre and 4–6 outer loculi, scattered on ventromedial head, thorax and abdomen. Vulvar opening as for genus. Cicatrices, oval to reniform, numbering 3, central cicatrix slightly larger than lateral cicatrices. Abdominal spiracles in 3 pairs. Anal tube and anal opening as for genus.

Type data. SRI LANKA: Pundaloya, ex leaves of Citrus, Croton and Cocculus .

Type material. Lectotype here designated: ad ♀, “ CEYLON /Kandy/On Croton/see Williams & Watson/ p.27/C.I.E. type matl./B.M 19”//“ Icerya crocea /Green/Type material/C.I.E./B.M 19” ( BMNH).

Other material examined. HONG KONG: ad ♀, NT, Fung Yuen Village , ex Rubus reflexus , 4.xii.2003 (J.H. Martin) ( BME, CMU041 ) ; INDIA: ad ♀, Assam, Guwahati , ex unidentified plant, 26.x.2004 (N.B. Hardy) ( BME, CMU112 ) .

Taxonomic notes. Refer to the I. seychellarum group for discussion of similar species. Refer to Unruh & Gullan (2008) for discussion of this species.