Phenacoccus solani Ferris

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 : 101-103

Phenacoccus solani Ferris

( Fig. 44 , distribution map Fig. 69 G )

Phenacoccus solani Ferris, 1918: 60 . Phenacoccus herbarum Lindinger, 1942: 115 . Phenacoccus defectus Ferris, 1950 b: 137 .

Field characteristics: Found on aerial plant parts, and occasionally at host-plant base (in hot, dry conditions). Body of adult female 2.25‒3.25 mm long, broadly oval, becoming fairly convex at maturity, body contents pinkish ( Zhao et al. 2014) but completely covered with a dense layer of white powdery wax without any areas of bare cuticle; lateral wax filaments short and thick, those at the abdominal apex longest.

Microscopic diagnosis: Slide-mounted adult female broadly oval. Anal lobes well developed. Antennae usually each with 8 or 9 segments. Legs well developed; hind tibia with translucent pores; claw with a denticle; tarsal digitules pointed at tip and shorter than claw. Cerarii numbering 18 pairs; anal lobe cerarii each with 2 lanceolate setae and some trilocular pores; anterior cerarii similar but smaller. Circulus usually oval, often sclerotized, and not divided by an intersegmental line. Ostioles normal, with inner edges of lips only lightly sclerotized. Anal ring with 3 rows of pores and 6 setae.

Dorsum with short lanceolate setae. Multilocular disc pores absent. Trilocular pores and discoidal pores scattered throughout. Oral collar tubular ducts absent.

Venter with normal flagellate setae, and some short lanceolate setae around margins of thorax and abdomen. Multilocular disc pores normally each with 10 loculi, present in single rows at posterior edges of forth and posterior abdominal segments, not reaching to margins; segment VII occasionally also with a few multilocular pores on anterior edge, but cuticle between anterior and posterior pore rows without any multilocular pores. Quinquelocular pores absent. Trilocular pores and discoidal pores scattered throughout. Oral collar ducts all the same size, present in small numbers across posterior abdominal segments, and on thoracic segments.

Distribution: Phenacoccus solani is known from 42 countries in the Afrotropical, Nearctic, Neotropical, Oriental and Palaearctic Regions ( García Morales et al. 2016) including Iran, where it has been recorded from Esfahan, Fars, and Tehran provinces ( Moghaddam et al. 2004).

Host-plants: The species has been recorded on host-plants in 89 genera belonging to 35 families ( García Morales et al. 2016). In Iran, it has been recorded on Amaranthaceae : Celosia cristata (root); Asphodelaceae : Aloe vera ; Asteraceae : Chrysanthemum morifolium ; and Poaceae : Festuca arundinacea ( Moghaddam 2013b) .

Economic importance: None in Iran.

Natural enemies: Not recorded in Iran.

Comments: Phenacoccus solani is native to southern North America and has been introduced accidentally to Iran. Although the species has been reported causing damage to glasshouse crops like capsicum peppers in Israel ( Mendel et al. 2010), there have been no reports of crop injury in Iran.

The accompanying illustration is from Williams (2004), page 614, Fig. 274, reproduced with kind permission of the author and the Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London, U.K.

Figures

FIGURE 44. Adult female of Phenacoccus solani Ferris. © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London, U.K.

FIGURE 69. Maps of species distributions in Iran. A. Phenacoccus bromi Moghaddam; B. Phenacoccus daganiae Bodenheimer; C. Phenacoccus hordei (Lindeman); D. Phenacoccus insularis Danzig; E. Phenacoccus poae Moghaddam; F. Phenacoccus pumilus Kiritshenko; G. Phenacoccus solani Ferris; H. Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley; I. Phenacoccus transcaucasicus Hadzibejli; J. Planococcus citri (Risso); K. Planococcus ficus (Signoret); L. Planococcus kraunhiae (Kuwana).