Pulvinaria pistaciae, Cao & Feng, 2020

Cao, Tong & Feng, Ji-Nian, 2020, The genus Pulvinaria (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae) in China, with description of a new species and a new record, Zootaxa 4750 (2), pp. 225-236 : 226-229

Pulvinaria pistaciae sp. n.

( Fig.1 )

Material examined. Holotype: adult female. CHINA, Yunnan Province, Kunming. 30. vi. 2018, on Pistacia chinensis, Cao Tong & Zhang Na ( NWAFU) . Paratypes: same data as holotype, 9 adult females mounted singly on slides ( NWAFU) .

Diagnosis. Adult female P. pistaciae sp. n. possesses a combination of the following: (i) body subcircular to broadly oval; (ii) derm sclerotized with reticulations developed, crowded together medially and becoming sparse and small submarginally; (iii) dorsal sub-marginal tubercles absent; (iv) dorsal tubular ducts usually absent, occasionally present; (v) anal plates triangular, together quadrate, posterior margin almost same length as anterior margin; (vi) marginal setae slender, setose and pointed, only a few with bifid apices; (vii) stigmatic clefts containing 4 or 6 spinose stigmatic spines; (viii) antennae each with 8 segments; (ix) legs with tibio-tarsal articulation and articulatory sclerosis developed; (x) claw without a denticle; (xi) pregenital disc-pores each with 5, 6, 7 or 9 loculi, mostly 7, present laterad to metacoxa; (xii) ventral tubular ducts of 5 types present (as detailed below); (xiii) type І ducts present in median area of thorax, anterior abdominal segments, head, and on inner submarginal area, present anteriorly between antennae; (xiv) type II ducts present medially on posterior abdominal segments and submarginal area around body, sparsely present on inner submarginal area and mediolateral thorax and anterior abdominal segments, and anteriorly between antennal bases; (xv) type III ducts present on posterior abdominal segments around vulvar area and posterior abdominal submarginal area, sporadically on submarginal area as far forward as anterior stigmatic clefts; (xvi) type IV ducts present on head, absent from between antennae, sparsely present on anterior abdominal submarginal area; and (xvii) type V ducts sparsely and sporadically present in a narrow submarginal band, absent from between antennae.

Description (data taken from 10 specimens)

Adult female in life. Body subcircular, very few broadly oval. Mature adult brown or yellow-brown, medial dorsum dark brown; slightly convex; forming a white and fluffy ovisac 1.5–2.0x longer than body.

Slide-mounted adult female. Body subcircular, very few broadly oval, 3.0–4.0 mm long, 3.0– 3.5 mm wide.

Anal cleft approximately 1/5 of body length. Stigmatic clefts not deep but distinct.

Dorsum. Derm with cell-like clear areas, with sclerotized reticulations and well-developed dermal areolations in mature specimens, areolations crowded together medially, becoming sparse and small submarginally. Dorsal setae short and spinose, each with a pointed apex and well-developed basal socket, 18–30 μm long. Submarginal tubercles absent. Dorsal microducts present, each located in a dorsal areolation 8–9 μm long. Dorsal tubular ducts usually absent, if present, very sparsely scattereded in submarginal area of dorsum, each duct small, with a short, wide outer ductule and a filamentous inner ductule. Preopercular pores circular, each 4–7 μm in diameter, a group of 15–21 present in median area anterior to anal plates. Anal plates each triangular, 245–258 μm long, 114–117 μm wide, together quadrate, anterolateral margin slightly concave, 160–166 μm long, posterolateral margin slightly convex, 164–172 μm long, posterior margin almost same length as anterior margin, outer angle slightly obtuse; each plate with a well-developed supporting bar and 4 apical setae, each seta 32–45 μm long, and a sub-apical seta, 34–54 μm long. Anogenital fold with 2 pairs of anterior margin setae, each 72–76 μm long, and 2 or 3 lateral marginal setae, each 48–55 μm long. Anal ring subcircular, with 2 rows of anal ring pores and 8 anal ring setae, each 273–300 μm long. Eye spots present near margin.

Margin. Most marginal setae setose and rather pointed, slightly curved or straight with well-developed basal sockets, each 47–92 μm long, marginal setae at anal clefts slightly longer than others, each 102–144 μm long; a very few marginal setae with bifid apices; with 80–86 setae between anterior stigmatic clefts, 20–29 setae between anterior and posterior stigmatic clefts on each side, and each side with 65–72 setae between posterior stigmatic cleft and anal cleft. Stigmatic clefts distinctly indented, each cleft containing 4 (occasionally 6) blunt stigmatic spines, each with a well-developed basal socket; when only 4 stigmatic spines present, there is 1 median spine, but when with 6 spines, then 2 or 3 long spines present; median (long) spines each 104–130 μm long, 2–3 times as long as a lateral spine, lateral spines each 43–58 μm long.

Venter. Derm membranous. Antennae each 743–760 μm long, usually with 8 segments (one specimen seen with a 7-segmented antenna), third segment longest. With 4 or 5 pairs of interantennal setae between antennal bases, comprised of 1 or 2 pairs of short inner setae, each 18–21 μm long, and 3 pairs of long outer setae, each 129–215 μm long. Legs well developed, each with tibio-tarsal articulation and articulatory sclerosis, tibia 316–349 μm long, tarsus 174–186 μm long. Claw without a denticle; claw digitules broad and expanded at apex, each 51–60 μm long. Tarsal digitules longer than claw digitules, each 101–103 μm long, slender, knobbed. Submarginal setae absent. With 3 pairs of long pregenital setae, each 152–227 μm long. Other ventral setae slender, setose, quite sparsely distributed, each 41–49 μm long. Spiracles in mature specimens each with a sclerotic plate (may not always be evident in young adults); spiracular disc-pores mostly each with 5 (occasionally 6) loculi in outer ring. Spiracular pores forming loose bands, each 2–3 pores wide and extending mesad beyond apodemal base of spiracle, anterior spiracular pore band with 63–74 pores, posterior spiracular pore band with 85–103 pores. Pregenital disc-pores primarily each with 7 loculi (but some with 5, 6, or 9 loculi) present around vulva, becoming progressively less frequent anteriorly; also present laterad to metacoxa.

Ventral tubular ducts of 5 types present ( Fig. 2 ): (i) outer ductule long and broad, inner ductule of similar length and width to outer ductule, with a well-developed flowery terminal gland; present in median area of thorax and anterior abdominal segments and head, on inner submarginal area, and anteriorly between antennae; (ii) outer ductule long and broad, inner ductule of almost similar length, its width almost equal to or slightly wider than half width of outer ductule, with flower-shaped terminal gland; present medially on submarginal and outer submarginal areas of posterior abdominal segments; sparsely present on inner submarginal and mediolateral areas of thorax and anterior abdominal segments; also present anteriorly between antennal bases; (iii) outer ductule moderately long, inner ductule longer than the outer ductule; width of inner ductule much less than half width of outer ductule, but not filamentous, with flower-shaped terminal gland; present on posterior abdominal segments near vulvar area and on posterior abdominal submarginal area, also sporadically on submarginal area as far forward as anterior stigmatic clefts; (iv) outer ductule short and rather broad, with fine inner filament-like of similar length with outer ductule, ending in a well-developed flowery terminal gland; ducts present on head, absent from anteriorly between antennal bases; some sparsely present on anterior abdominal submarginal areas; and (v) outer ductule short, with a fine inner filament without any terminal gland; sparsely and sporadically present in a loose, narrow submarginal band, absent from anteriorly between antennal bases.

Etymology. The species epithet pistaciae is a noun in aposition, referring to the host-plant from which this new species was collected.

Host. Pistacia chinensis Bunge (Anacardiaceae) .

Distribution. China (Yunnan Province).

Comments. In life, P. pistaciae sp. n. is similar to P. ferrisi Ali, 1971 but in slide-mounted specimens, the former is easily distinguished from the latter by the features shown in Table 1 .

Slide-mounted P. pistaciae sp. n. are morphologically similar to P. polygonata in some features, such as having each stigmatic cleft containing more than 3 stigmatic spines ( P. pistaciae sp. n. usually has 4 or 6, whereas P. polygonata has 4–6, usually 5); spiracles each with a sclerotic plate; pregenital disc-pores each with 7 loculi; and dorsal areolations well developed; however, these species can be separated by the features shown in Table 2 .

Pulvinaria pistaciae sp. n. was found on a common ornamental endemic plant, Pistacia chinensis (Anacardiaceae) , infesting twigs, leaves and fruits; the adult females occurred mixed with nymphs. When present in concentrated populations, the insects can eventually cause the death of the host. Pistacia chinensis (Anacardiaceae) is of ornamental, environmental and medicinal value in China.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Adult female of Pulvinaria pistaciae sp. n. Abbreviations: AGF ano-genital fold; ANP anal plates; ANT antenna; DA body derm appearance; DMD dorsal microduct; DS dorsal seta; DTD dorsal tubular duct; LG tibio-tarsal joint of hind leg; MS marginal setae; PGDP pregenital disc-pores; POP preopercular pore; SDP spiracular disc-pores; SP spiracle; SSP stigmatic spines; VTD ventral tubular ducts of types І–V; VS ventral setae.

FIGURE 2. Ventral tubular ducts of Pulvinaria pistaciae sp. n. in young adult females: A. Type І VTD; B. Type І VTD; C. Type II VTD; D. Type II VTD; E. Type III VTD; F. Type IV VTD; G. Type IV VTD; H. Type V VTD.

Tables

TABLE 1. Morphological features that separate P. pistaciae sp. n. and P. ferrisi. VTDs = ventral tubular ducts. Descrip- tions of the types of VTDs are given in the diagnosis of P. pistaciae sp. n. above.

Morphological features	P. pistaciae sp. n.	P. ferrisi
VTDs	VTDs of 5 types present	VTDs of 2 types present, types I and V ( Ferris 1950)
Type V VTDs	Absent from anterior between an-	Densely present on head and in area anterior to space
	tennae; sparsely present in a loose	between antennae; also at posterior end of body, in a
Pregential disc pores	submarginal band 7 loculi	broad submarginal band ( Ferris 1950) 10 loculi ( Ferris 1950)