Cryptostigma species

Kondo, Takumasa, 2010, Taxonomic revision of the myrmecophilous, meliponiphilous and rhizophilous soft scale genus Cryptostigma Ferris (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Coccidae) 2709, Zootaxa 2709, pp. 1-72 : 5

Association of Cryptostigma species with ants, stingless bees and plant root systems

Most members of the genus Cryptostigma are found internally on their host plants in hollow branches, or trunks in association with ants ( Newstead 1917, 1920; Ferris, 1922; Morrison, 1922, 1929; Laing, 1925) and rarely stingless bees ( Camargo and Pedro, 2002a, b). According to Qin and Gullan (1989), Cryptostigma is involved with four ant subfamilies: Dolichoderinae, Formicinae, Myrmicinae and Pseudomyrmecinae . Although Qin and Gullan’s (1989) revision of Cryptostigma included members of the genus Myzolecanium (i.e., M. endoeucalyptus (Qin & Gullan) and M. magnetinsulae (Qin & Gullan) , then included in Cryptostigma ), these same four ant subfamilies were found to be associated with Cryptostigma sensu stricto. Myzolecanium endoeucalyptus is tended by ants, probably Crematogaster sp. (Myrmicinae) or Iridomyrmex sp. (Dolichoderinae) , and M. magnetinsulae has no ant association records ( Qin & Gullan, 1989). Species known to be associated with Cryptostigma are: Azteca alfari cecropiae ( Morrison, 1929) ; Azteca longiceps ( Morrison, 1929) ; Camponotus sp. , C. longipilis , C. mirabilis ( Kondo & Gullan, 2004) , C. novogrenadensis ( Morrison, 1922) ; Crematogaster brevispinosa ( Newstead, 1920) ; Myrmelachista sp. ( Morrison, 1929) , Myrmelachista ambigua ramulorum Wheeler ( Ferris, 1922) ; Pseudomyrmex sericea (as Pseudomyrma sericea ) ( Morrison, 1929), and P. viduus ( Ward, 1999) . Other ants found associated with Cryptostigma are: Azteca spp. , Azteca nigricans , A. xanthochroa , Crematogaster stolli , Pseudomyrmex spp. , Pseudomyrmex sp. cf. fortis (unpublished data). Two of the new species are found closely associated with stingless bees ( Apidae : Meliponini ). One, C. melissophilum sp. nov., is tended by the stingless bee Schwarzula coccidophila ( Camargo & Pedro, 2002b) and the other species, C. chacoensis sp. nov. is found inside the nests of two stingless bees, Schwarzula timida and Plebeia sp. (David Roubik personal communication). Two other species: C. silveirai , comb. nov. and C. rhizophilim sp. nov. are hypogeal in habit and are not known to be tended by hymenopterans.