Mirococcus inermis (Hall)

MOGHADDAM, MASUMEH & WATSON, GILLIAN W., 2022, The Scale Insects Of Iran (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) Part 2 The Mealybugs (Pseudococcidae And Rhizoecidae) And Putoidae, Zootaxa 5126 (1), pp. 1-169 : 68-70

Mirococcus inermis (Hall)

( Fig. 26 , distribution map Fig. 68 A )

Phenacoccus inermis Hall, 1925: 7 . Polystomophora orientalis Matesova, 1960: 212 . Polystomophora arakensis Moghaddam in Moghaddam & Alikhani, 2010: 12‒14.

Field characteristics: Found on the roots of the host-plant. Appearance in life not noted.

Microscopic diagnosis: Slide-mounted adult female broadly oval. Antennae each with 9 segments. Legs well developed; claw with a small denticle and a pair of digitules each with a slightly expanded apex and longer than tarsal digitules; tarsal digitules pointed at tip and shorter than claw. Hind leg with translucent pores on dorsal surface of femur and ventral and dorsal surfaces of tibia. Cerarii absent. Circulus present, notched on each side. Ostioles well developed. Anal ring circular, with 2 rows of pores and 6 setae.

Dorsum with long slender setae. Multilocular disc pores present across head, thoracic and abdominal segments V‒VII, also across segments I‒IV in 1 or 2 irregular rows per segment. Trilocular pores and simple pores present over entire body. Oral collar tubular ducts of 1 size, present across head, thorax and all abdominal segments.

Venter with flagellate setae, longer than those on dorsum. Multilocular disc pores each with 10 loculi, present across abdominal segments and posterior to vulva, and singly on median area of thorax; also associated with anterior and posterior spiracular openings. Quinquelocular pores present near midline of thoracic segments, and on anterior edges of abdominal segments I‒III. Trilocular pores distributed over entire body. Simple pores scattered. Oral collar ducts of 1 size present throughout.

Distribution: Mirococcus inermis is known from 21 countries in the Afrotropical and Palaearctic Regions including Iran ( García Morales et al. 2016), where it has been recorded from Markazi province (Moghaddam 2015).

Host-plants: Mirococcus inermis has been recorded on host-plants in 31 genera belonging to 16 families ( García Morales et al. 2016). In Iran, it has been recorded on Noaea sp. (Chenopodiaceae) , Atraphaxis sp. (Polygonaceae) (Moghaddam 2015). Economic importance: None. Natural enemies: None recorded. Comments: The accompanying illustration is reproduced from Moghaddam (2015), page 126, Fig. 3 , with kind permission from the Editor of Entomologica Fennica .

Genus NIPAECOCCUS Šulc

Nipaecoccus Šulc, 1945: 1 . Type species: Pseudococcus nipae Maskell by monotypy and original designation. Elizabetiella Borchsenius, 1947: 142 . Calicoccus Balachowsky, 1959: 339 .

Principal characters: Nipaecoccus is one of the genera containing species with an almost black body content that often turns blue-green when prepared in 10% potassium hydroxide. Slide-mounted adult female usually broadly oval or rotund. Antennae each with 6‒8 segments. Legs well developed. Cerarii numbering up to 18 pairs but many species have fewer, restricted to abdomen. Each anal lobe cerarius containing only 2 conical-to-lanceolate setae. With increasing distance from rear end, enlarged setae in each cerarius progressively further apart; cerarii on thorax and head sometimes unrecognizable. Circulus present or absent. Ostioles represented at least by posterior pair. Dorsal setae often spine-like, resembling cerarian setae but smaller. Ventral setae in median areas flagellate. Multilocular disc pores present on venter.

Comments: Worldwide, 48 species are included in Nipaecoccus ( García Morales et al. 2016) ; one species is known from Iran (Moghaddam 2009).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Adult female of Antonina graminis (Maskell). © Magnolia Press, www.mapress.com/j/zt, reproduced with the copyright holder’s permission.

FIGURE 26. Adult female of Mirococcus inermis (Hall).

FIGURE 68. Maps of species distributions in Iran. A. Mirococcus inermis (Hall); B. Nipaecoccus viridis (Newstead); C. Paracoccus burnerae (Brain); D. Paracoccus ficus Moghaddam; E. Peliococcopsis priesneri (Laing); F. Peliococcus chersonensis (Kiritshenko); G. Peliococcus marrubii (Kiritshenko); H. Peliococcus turanicus (Kiritshenko); I. Pelionella grassiana (Goux); J. Phenacoccus aceris (Signoret); K. Phenacoccus arthrophyti Archangelskaya; L. Phenacoccus betae Moghaddam.