Choneochiton Hodgson 2014

Hodgson, Chris, 2020, A review of neococcid scale insects (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccomorpha) based on the morphology of the adult males, Zootaxa 4765 (1), pp. 1-264 : 83

Choneochiton Hodgson 2014

Choneochiton Hodgson in Hodgson et al. 2014, 153 . Type species: Choneochiton casuarinae Hodgson, Mille & Cazères by original designation.

Introduction. This genus contains just the one species, C. casuarinae , endemic to New Caledonia and found on Casuarina collina (Casuarinaceae) . The adult male was described by Hodgson et al. (2014) ( Fig. 30 ). It is not known whether it causes galls.

Generic diagnosis based on adult male morphology of C. casuarinae ( Fig. 30 ). Body not attenuated and abdomen more or less parallel sided with a short penial sheath; body setae quite long and mainly fs, these almost indistinguishable from hs; loculate pores absent apart from in glandular pouches. Head: quite setose; simple pores present; ocular sclerite without reticulations; dorsal mid-cranial ridge well defined; genal setae abundant, both fs and hs; antennae 10 segmented; flagellar segments with hs and fs, these almost indistinguishable and all long; capitate setae present on several antennal segments in addition to those on apical segment. Thorax: prescutum with prescutal setae; scutal setae present medially and laterally; scutellum without scutellar setae; postmesospiracular setae fs and abundant; metasternal setae present; postmetaspiracular setae present; claw digitules capitate; claws with a small denticle. Abdomen: fs almost indistinguishable from hs; glandular pouches present on segment VIII; glandular pouch setae slightly capitate; segment IX with a few pairs of long setae posteriorly; style also with several pairs of long setae; style short, about twice as long as basal width, narrowing abruptly to a sharp apex.

Comment. The adult males of C. casuarinae have: (i) a particularly large group of pores anteriorly on head; (ii) alar lobes present but hamulohalteres absent, and (iii) hs and fs rather similar, each frequently with a blunt or capitate apex. Tectococcus ovatus Hempel has many pores on the head, but is found in the Neotropics, has 8-segmented antennae and a long antennuated abdomen. The presence of alar lobes without hamulohalteres is also known in several genera, such as Apiomorpha and Ovaticoccus but the males of these genera are morphologically very different.

Figures

FIGURE 30. Choneochiton casuarinae Hodgson, Mille & Cazères. Macropterous male. (Eriococcidae, Gondwanan group). Where A=hair-like setae, B=fleshy seta, C=proximal end of metathoracic leg, D=dorsal view of penial sheath, E=ventral view of penial sheath, and F=ventral view of anterior end of head.