Asterococcus muratae (Kuwana)

Chris J. Hodgson & Douglas J. Williams, 2016, (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha, Coccomorpha) with particular reference to species from the Afrotropical, western Palaearctic and western Oriental Regions, with the revival of Antecerococcus Green and description of a new genus and fifteen new species, and with ten new synonomies, Zootaxa 4091 (1), pp. 1-175 : 138-139

Asterococcus muratae (Kuwana)

Cerococcus muratae Kuwana 1907: 180 .

Solenophora muratae ; Cockerell 1909: 55. Change of combination. Solenococcus muratae ; Sanders 1909: 36. Change of combination Asterococcus pyri Borchsenius 1960: 118 –120. Synonymy by Lambdin 1983: 298. Asterococcus muratae ; Borchsenius 1960: 128. Change of combination.

Type details. Asterococcus muratae , JAPAN, Tokyo, on Viburnum odoratissimum (Caprifoliaceae) , 16.iv.1906, S.I. Kuwana. Depository: IAES, Japan: holotype adf. [USNM: possesses 3 slides, 1 labelled paratype by Lambdin and other 2 labelled as cotype but, although locality and date are correct, all three are off grape not Vibernum (Miller, pers. comm.).]

Type details. Asterococcus pyri , GEORGIA, Abkhazie, on Pyrus sp. ( Rosaceae ), 23.x.1934, A. Shorkin. Depository: ZIAS: holotype adf (ZIAS also has 8 non-type slides).

Material studied. JAPAN, Yokohama, on Viburnum sp. ( Caprifoliaceae ), 26.ix.1954, Takahashi (BMNH): 3/ 4adff (g).

Comment. This species was redescribed by Lambdin (1983). Based on the material here studied, additional details to his description are: (i) the anteroventral sclerotizations on the anal lobes are absent; (ii) the structure of the multilocular disc-pores looks normal (Lambdin illustrates two rings of loculi); (iii) the anterior line of multilocular disc-pores is medial on the metathorax and these pores have fewer loculi; (iv) Lambdin describes the 8-shaped pores on the dorsum of the cephalothorax as being in transverse lines but they appeared to be randomly distributed to us; (v) the transverse bands of 8-shaped pores dorsally on the abdomen appear to be in three bands as follows: a broad band on segment III or IV (but Borchsenius (1960) shows this as two bands), possibly no band on IV or V, but narrow bands on VI and VII; (vi) the larger tubular ducts appear to be on segment VI, and (vii) each transverse band of multilocular disc-pores has a gap between the submarginal group and the medial band.

Based on the figure of A. pyri (= A. muratae ) in Borchsenius (1960), the adult female is characterised by the following combination of character-states: (i) eight-shaped pores on dorsum of head and thorax very sparse and smaller than those in transverse bands across abdomen; (ii) slightly larger 8-shaped pores on abdomen in three or four transverse bands, possibly on segments IV, V, VII and VIII; (iii) cribriform plates absent; (iv) tubular ducts on dorsum of two sizes, narrow ducts sparse medially but becoming more abundant around margins; broader ducts restricted to medially on abdominal segments (v) tubular ducts on venter absent medially; (vi) posterior stigmatic bands bifurcated; (vii) each stigmatic band very broad near spiracles, each band narrowing near margin; (viii) 8- shaped pores of two sizes on venter, both forming a broad marginal band but with smaller pores towards outside of band; (ix) multilocular disc-pores present across abdominal segments II–VII, absent on metathorax; (ix) leg stubs present, and (x) loculate pores near antennae abundant.