Balanococus balkanicus Gavrilov

Gavrilov, Ilya A., 2010, Descriptions of two new species of Pseudococcidae (Homoptera: Coccinea) and additions to the scale insect fauna of Bulgaria, Zootaxa 2635, pp. 32-40 : 33

Balanococus balkanicus Gavrilov sp. n.

( Fig. 1 )

Adult female. Unmounted appearance. Live female violet, covered by powdery wax.

Mounted material. Body elongate, broadest posteriorly, about 4.5 mm long and 2 mm wide. Eyes each about 25 μm in diameter. Antennae each 7 segmented, 240–250 μm long. Legs small; trochanter + femur 140– 150 μm; tibia + tarsus about 120–150 μm. Hind coxae with numerous translucent pores. Claw about 20 μm long, without denticle. Claw digitules and tarsal digitules longer then claw, capitate. Two pairs of ostioles present. Circuli four in number, large, broadly oval or even quadrate in shape. Anal ring round, about 80 μm in diameter, with outer row of spinules and inner row of oval cells. Multilocular pores each with 10 loculi and about 8 μm in diameter, forming transverse rows on posterior 4 abdominal segments and in a band along body margin. Trilocular pores, each about 4 μm in diameter, present throughout both body surfaces. Simple discoidal pores, each about 3 μm in diameter, present sparsely on both surfaces of body. Tubular ducts of two size, both with a collar; large ducts each 7 μm long and 4 μm wide, forming groups along abdominal margin and in a band along dorsal margin of thorax and head; smaller ducts each 6 μm long and 3 μm wide, present mainly medially on posterior five abdominal segments. Only one pair of cerarii present – С18, with two thin conical attenuated setae and several trilocular pores. In place of С17, one conical seta similar with that in С18 present. Body setae short and thin.

Taxomomic notes. The new species is similar with B. boratynskii Williams, 1962 , but differs in the presence of four large circuli and two sizes of tubular ducts. For keys and descriptions of the other Palaearctic Balanococcus species, see Danzig (1998) and Kwon et al. (2003).

Material examined. Holotype Ƥ: K 572, Bulgaria, Vitosha, 1820 m, subalpine meadow, under the leaf sheaths of undetermined Poaceae , 6.VII. 2008; paratype Ƥ, the same data.

Etymology. The species is named after the geographic region, the Balkans.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Balanococus balkanicus Gavrilov sp. n., holotype.