ORTHEZIIDAE Amyot & Serville

Watson, Gillian W., 2022, Towards identification of the scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) of continental Africa: 2. Checklists and keys to six archaeococcoid families, Zootaxa 5105 (3), pp. 301-356 : 338-341

Family ORTHEZIIDAE Amyot & Serville

Common names: Ensign scales or ortheziids.

Background: The family Ortheziidae contains 24 genera and 214 species ( García Morales et al. 2016). It occurs in all zoogeographical regions, but the greatest diversity occurs in the Neotropical and Nearctic regions, whereas far fewer species have been recorded from the Far East and Australia ( Kozár 2004; García Morales et al. 2016). Most species have very localized distributions; very few are more widespread ( García Morales et al. 2016).

Appearance in life: In life, some ensign scale species occur on leaf veins and twigs in association with sooty mould, where they are often quite conspicuous; however, many other species feed underground or in moss and are very difficult to find. The adult females secrete symmetrical wax plates on the dorsum and margin, and a long, often fluted ovisac that is attached to the posterior end of the body (not the host) and is carried about by the mobile female like a white flag ( Fig. 23A ). The legs and antennae are quite long and dark brown.

Identification: Ortheziids are covered by elaborate wax secretions whose distinctive shapes in life are used for identification; it is therefore recommended that specimens should be photographed in dorsal and side views before they are preserved in alcohol. The best specimens for slide-mounting for identification are young adult females quite soon after the final moult, before the body has developed large amounts of wax secretions. Adult female ( Fig. 23 ) with antennae each tipped with a thick terminal seta; eyes each on a short stalk; with 2‒4 pairs of small abdominal spiracles; anal ring located on surface at apex of abdomen, containing pores and bearing setae; ventral ovisac band usually present, composed of spines and pores; and pores in derm mostly quadrilocular ( Miller et al. 2014). Kozár and Miller (2000) used a numbering system for the wax plates on the body surface to facilitate species comparisons (e.g. Fig. 24 ).

Economic importance: A few species of ensign scale have extended their geographical distributions and can be pests, e.g., Insignorthezia insignis (Browne) on ornamental plants and fruit trees, and Praelongorthezia praelonga (Douglas) on citrus; both species occur in parts of Africa ( García Morales et al. 2016). Honeydew eliminated by the insects causes development of sooty mould on plant surfaces near the infestation, and attendant ants may be present. Sooty mould makes foliage and produce unsightly, reducing their market value, and impairs photosynthesis, weakening the plant and reducing growth and productivity ( Kondo et al. 2013).

Biology: Ortheziids occur on a wide range of host plants, from mosses and fungi to grasses, small herbaceous plants, woody shrubs and small trees ( Kondo & Watson 2022 in press). There are 4 developmental instars in the female and probably 5 in the male (if present). It is not known whether the prepupa is mobile, as in most archaeococcoid groups, or sedentary as in neococcoid scales. As the eggs develop and hatch, first-instar nymphs escape from the ovisac through a gap at the distal end. In a greenhouse on Coleus , I. insignis reproduced parthenogenetically and completed its life cycle in 30 days; over a period of 24 days, each female produced 80‒102 nymphs ( Shivakumar & Lakshmikantha 2001).

Checklist and distributions of Ortheziidae in continental Africa (8 genera, 35 species)

Subfamily Newsteadiinae

Newsteadia africana Miller & Kozár : Angola, South Africa

Newsteadia angustilinea Miller & Kozár : Tanzania

Newsteadia biracemus Miller & Kozár : South Africa

Newsteadia perpauca Miller & Kozár : Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Newsteadia scissa Miller & Kozár : Angola

Newsteadia southafricensis Miller & Kozár : South Africa

Newsteadia spiraculum Miller & Kozár : South Africa

Newsteadia turbinespina Miller & Kozár : Tanzania

Newsteadia wacri Strickland : Ghana

Subfamily Ortheziinae

Insignorthezia insignis (Browne) : Algeria, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda

Praelongorthezia praelonga (Douglas) : Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Gambia *

*New country record: GAMBIA, Dakar, on Bougainvillea sp. , coll. R. Muniappan, 10.v.2013; on Citrus sp., coll. J. Faye, 6.viii.2013. Slide-mounted specimens are deposited in the California State Collection of Arthropods, Plant Pest Diagnostic Center, Meadowview Road, Sacramento , California 95832, U.S.A.

Subfamily Ortheziolinae

Matileortheziola angolaensis Kozár & Foldi : Angola

Matileortheziola lanceolata Kaydan, Konczné Benedicty & Szita : Kenya, Rwanda

Orthezia maroccana Kozár & Konczné Benedicty in Kozár (2004): Morocco

Orthezia urticae (Linnaeus) : Algeria, Morocco

Ortheziola britannica Kozár & Miller : Algeria

Ortheziola szelenyii Kozár & Konczné Benedicty : Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia

Ortheziolacoccus angolaensis (Kozár & Konczné Benedicty) : Angola

Ortheziolacoccus ankazobeensis (Mamet) : South Africa

Ortheziolacoccus barrosmachadoi Kozár & Konczné Benedicty in Kozár: Angola

Ortheziolacoccus benedictyae (Kozár & Miller) : Tanzania

Ortheziolacoccus demeteri (Kozár & Konczné Benedicty) : Ethiopia

Ortheziolacoccus ethiopiensis (Kozár & Miller) : Ethiopia

Ortheziolacoccus fercsii (Kozár & Miller) : Tanzania

Ortheziolacoccus giliomeei (Kozár & Miller) : Tanzania

Ortheziolacoccus jermyi (Kozár & Miller) : South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda

Ortheziolacoccus mahunkai (Kozár & Miller) : Democratic Republic of the Congo

Ortheziolacoccus matileferreroae (Kozár & Miller) : Malawi, Tanzania

Ortheziolacoccus millari Kozár & Konczné Benedicty in Kozár: Tanzania

Ortheziolacoccus multisetosus Kozár & Konczné Benedicty in Kozár (2004): Gabon

Ortheziolacoccus nelliae (Kozár & Miller) : Tanzania

Ortheziolacoccus saringeri (Kozár) : Angola

Ortheziolacoccus williamsi (Kozár & Miller) : Tanzania

Ortheziolamameti guineensis (Morrison) : Ghana

Ortheziolamameti kosztarabi (Kozár & Miller) : Angola

Key to genera of Ortheziidae in continental Africa, based on Kozár (2004).

1(0) Tibia and tarsus well separated. Antenna usually with 7 or 8 segments...................... (subfamily Ortheziinae )...2

- Tibia and tarsus fused or not clearly separated. Antenna with 3‒7 segments....................................... 4

2(1) Area enclosed by ovisac band with segmental transverse rows of spines.......................................... 3

- Area enclosed by ovisac band without segmental transverse rows of spines.............. Insignorthezia insignis ( Fig. 23 )

3(2) Dorsum of head with sclerotized plates....................................... Praelongorthezia praelonga ( Fig. 25 )

- Dorsum of head membranous, without dorsal sclerotized plates.................................. Orthezia ( Fig. 26 )

4(1) Antennal segments I and II long and cylindrical. Base of antenna separate from eye sclerotization. Antenna usually with 6 or 7 segments (occasionally fewer)...................................(subfamily Newsteadiinae ) ... Newsteadia ( Fig. 24 )

- Antennal segments I and II short and wide. Base of antenna fused with eye sclerotization.Antenna usually with 3 or 4 segments only........................................................................ (subfamily Ortheziolinae )...5

5(4) In life, centre of dorsum with a series of at least 5 wax plates along mid-line................. Ortheziolamameti ( Fig. 27 )

- In life, centre of dorsum not divided into a series of plates along mid-line........................................ 6

6(5) Area enclosed by ovisac band with only 1 ventral transverse spine band........................... Ortheziola ( Fig. 28 )

- Area enclosed by ovisac band with 2 ventral transverse spine bands............................................. 7

7(6) In life, dorsal margin with only 1 narrow, compact wax plate band.......................... Matileortheziola ( Fig. 29 )

- In life, dorsal margin with 2 bands of wax plates....................................... Ortheziolacoccus ( Fig. 30 )

Figures

FIGURE 23. Insignorthezia insignis (Browne), adult female, modified from Kozár (2004: 307, Fig. 129) with permission from Agrártudományi Kutatóközpont. AS: abdominal spiracles; A: appearance in life from Green (1922: Plate CLXXIV, 2 and 4).

FIGURE 24. Newsteadia angustilinea Miller & Kozár, adult female, reproduced from Miller & Kozár (2002: 210, Fig. 2) with permission from D.R. Miller.

FIGURE 25. Praelongorthezia praelonga (Douglas), adult female, reproduced from Kozár (2004: 421, Fig. 181) with permission from Agrártudományi Kutatóközpont. AS: abdominal spiracles.

FIGURE 26. Orthezia urticae (Linnaeus), adult female, reproduced from Kozár (2004: 375, Fig. 158) with permission from Agrártudományi Kutatóközpont.

FIGURE 27. Ortheziolamameti kosztarabi (Kozár & Miller), adult female, reproduced from Kozár & Miller (2000: 28, Fig. 9) with permission from John Wiley and Sons.

FIGURE 28. Ortheziola britannica Kozár & Miller, adult female, reproduced from Kozár & Miller (2000: 21, Fig. 3) with permission from John Wiley and Sons.

FIGURE 29. Matileortheziola angolaensis (Kozár & Foldi), adult female, reproduced from Kozár and Foldi (2000: 253, Fig. 1), rights reserved - with permission of Revue française d’Entomologie (N.S.).

FIGURE 30. Ortheziolacoccus jermyi (Kozár & Miller), adult female, reproduced from Kozár & Miller (2000: 27, Fig. 8) with permission from John Wiley and Sons.