Ripersiella cryphia (Williams)

Hodgson, Chris, 2012, Comparison of the morphology of the adult males of the rhizoecine, phenacoccine and pseudococcine mealybugs (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccoidea), with the recognition of the family Rhizoecidae Williams 3291, Zootaxa 3291 (1), pp. 1-79 : 32-34

Ripersiella cryphia (Williams)

( Fig. 9 )

Rhizoecus cryphius Williams, 2004b: 766 .

Ripersiella cryphia (Williams) ; Kozár and Konczné Beneditcty, 2007: 434.

Ripersiella cryphla (Williams) ; Kozár and Konczné Beneditcty, 2007: 434 (misspelling).

Material examined. Paratype: Thailand, Kanchanchuri , Ereven National Park Waterfall , no host, 14.ii.1994, Mahunka Papp ( BMNH): 1/1ad ♂ (fair but more or less unstained) .

Mounted material: apterous; very small, total body length about 550 µm; greatest width 178 µm; antennae 9 segmented, short, clearly less than half total body length; most antennal segments narrow basally, broadening medially, with both hair-like setae (hs) and fleshy setae (fs); body with few setae, all hs, fine and mainly 12–20 µm long; loculate pores (lp) with mainly 6–8 loculi, each about 6–8 µm wide, present on both dorsum and venter. With only 1 pair of simple eyes. Legs each with 2-segmented tarsi (ta); trochanters (tr) with 3 campaniform pores.

Head: greatest width about 75 µm. Dorsal epicranium unsclerotised; with about 10 pairs of hs dorsal head setae (dhs) distributed along full length of head; loculate pores and simple pores absent. Simple eyes (se): 1 pair, each about 13 µm wide apparently placed on side of head. Ocular sclerite (ocs) unsclerotised. Ventral epicranium unsclerotised, without any sign of ventral midcranial ridge (vmcr) or lateral arms of midcranial ridge (lmcr); with 3 pairs of ventral midcranial ridge setae (vmcrs). Preocular ridge (procr) restricted to short ridges both dorsally and ventrally; procr ventrally not meeting medially.

Antennae: 9 segmented; length about 220 µm long (ratio of total body length to antennal length 1:0.40). Scape (scp): 25 µm long, 20 µm wide, with 4 hs. Pedicel (pdc): length 30 µm, width about 18 µm; with 6 hs + 1 campaniform pore. Segments III–X all about 13–17 µm wide at widest point; all flagellar segments broadest medially or towards distal end; lengths of segments (µm): III 27; IV 17; V 25; VI–VIII 22, and IX 33; hs setae 13–18 µm long, longest on more apical segments; setae not obviously arranged in whorls; approximate number of setae per segment (hs and fs hard to separate): III 7 hs; IV 1 fs + 4 hs; V 4 fs + 7 hs; VI 5 hs + 6 hs; VII 5 fs + 4 hs; VIII 1 fs,7 hs + 1 antennal bristle (ab), and IX 5 fs, 5 hs + 4 ab. + 3 ab.

Thorax. Segmentation obscure but all membranous. Dorsum with sparse lines of short setae across each segment. Loculate pores present, with a marginal group of about 6 pores on prothorax, a line of about 6 pores across metathorax and a few pores elsewhere. Ventrally with very sparse setae and a few loculate pores, these most abundant near spiracles. Mesofurca distinct. With a line present from mesofurca extending anterolaterally, perhaps homologous with metaprecoxal ridge (pcr 3). Spiracles (sp 2): width of peritreme about 10–11 µm, each with 2 or 3 associated lp.

Wings and hamulohalteres (h) absent.

Legs: metathoracic legs longest. Coxae (cx), lengths (µm): I 50; II 50; III 56; coxa III with about 4 hs. Trochanter (tr) + femur (fm), lengths (µm): I 93; II 94; III 100; trochanter III with about 3 hs; each trochanter with 3 roundly oval sensoria arranged in a triangle medially; with strong, Y-shaped sclerotised ridges; long trochanter seta not differentiated but seta in this position about 10–12 µm long; femur III with about 7 or 8 hs. Tibia (ti), lengths (µm): I 65; II 63; III 88; tibia III with 14 setae, mainly hs, becoming spur-like distally; all tibiae with 2 or 3 apical spurs (tibs); length of longest 17–19 µm. Tarsi (ta) 2 segmented, ta 1 very short and ring-like; length of both segments combined (µm): I 43; II 58; III 48 (ratio of length of tibia III to length of tarsus III 1:0.55); tarsus III with 16 or 17 setae, mainly spur-like; tarsal digitules (tdgt) represented by a perhaps a single fine hair-like seta. Claws (c) long and narrow, without a denticle; length of III 20–21 µm; claw digitules (cdt) setose, each about 8 µm long.

Abdomen: segments I–VIII: tergites (at), sternites (as) and pleurites (pl) membranous. Loculate pores (lp) present along margins, with 1 on dorsum and 1 on venter of each segment. Setae present in a single line across each segment, each 12–20 long, with 4–6 dorsal abdominal setae (ads) and 4–6 ventral abdominal setae (avs) in each segment; with probably 2 pairs of dorsal pleural setae (dps) and 1 pair of ventral pleural seta (vps) per segment but these more or less undifferentiated from ads. Segment VIII with 3 longer setae on each side in position of glandular pouches, each about 55 µm long; tergite VIII with a pair of longer hs ads medially (each 20 µm long) + 2 pairs of lp; sternite without setae or pores.

Genital segment: penial sheath (ps) broad, with a broad dorsal ridge that narrows posteriorly and then broadens into a triangular-shaped apex; length of ps from anterior margin to apex about 93 µm, width at base 65 µm. Dorsal ridge with anus anteriorly (width about 12 µm) plus 2 pairs of setae, each about 17 µm long, posteriorly. With 1 pair of short setae laterally near triangular apex, each about 7 µm long. Ventrally, with an indistinct slit-like opening through which aedeagus emerges; aedeagus (aed) strongly curved, perhaps 75 µm long, distal end pointed; anteriorly, aedeagus bends ventrally and fuses with a short sclerotised basal rod (bra). Triangular apex of penial sheath with a series of shallow concentric ridges; presence of sensilla (psp) unknown.

Comment. The adult male of Ri. cryphia is basically similar to the males of other apterous species seen here, but differs in having the following combination of character states: (i) 9-segmented antennae, each flagellar segment broadest medially or distally; (ii) loculate pores present dorsally on thorax and abdomen, with 2 pairs laterally in each abdominal segment; (iii) 1 pair of simple eyes present laterally on head; (iv) each trochanter with 3 campaniform pores on each side; (v) body setae few; (vi) Y-shaped sclerotisations present on trochanter, and (vii) penial sheath with a broad triangular apex, with shallow concentric ridges. The only other adult male known with only 1 pair of simple eyes is Ripersiella sp. B from Ethiopia. These two species are otherwise very different.

Figures

FIGURE 9. Ripersiella cryphia (Williams). Adult male. Where C = loculate pore; H = apex of penial sheath and K = distal end of posterior leg. For other labels, see under Materials and methods: conventions.