Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green)

MOGHADDAM, MASUMEH & WATSON, GILLIAN W., 2022, The Scale Insects Of Iran (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) Part 2 The Mealybugs (Pseudococcidae And Rhizoecidae) And Putoidae, Zootaxa 5126 (1), pp. 1-169 : 66-68

Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green)

( Fig. 25 , distribution map Fig. 67 L )

Phenacoccus hirsutus Green, 1908: 25 . Phenacoccus glomeratus Green, 1922: 389 . Spilococcus perforatus De Lotto, 1954: 114 . Paracoccus pasaniae Borchsenius, 1962a: 590 .

Field characteristics: Usually found in colonies under or inside distorted leaves at stunted stem apices, the insects often being completely buried in sticky white ovisac material. Adult female about 1.6-3.0 mm long, pinkish or greyish, covered with powdery white wax; when crushed, body contents bright salmon-pink; eggs bright pink.

Microscopic diagnosis: Slide-mounted adult female broadly oval. Anal lobes poorly to moderately developed, each ventral surface bearing a partial or complete, often indistinct anal lobe bar. Antennae each with 9 segments. Legs well developed; hind leg with translucent pores on dorsal surfaces of femur and tibia; claw without a denticl; tarsal digitules pointed at tip and longer than claw. Cerarii usually numbering 4–6 pairs. Anal lobe cerarii each with 2 short conical setae and a few trilocular pores, all situated on a membranous area. Anterior cerarii each similar to anal lobe cerarii but sometimes reduced to a single seta, or with 1 or both setae replaced by flagellate setae. Circulus present, quadrate to oval, divided by an intersegmental line. Ostioles well developed.

Dorsum with flagellate setae. Trilocular pores evenly distributed. Oral rim tubular ducts numerous, present across all segments and margins of head, thorax and abdominal segments; each duct with rim flat, level with body surface. Oral collar ducts small, each narrower than a trilocular pore, present across middle of segments in sparse single rows, sometimes only 1 or 2 per segment.

Venter with flagellate setae, usually longer than those on dorsum. Multilocular disc pores each with 10 loculi, present, mainly across anterior and posterior edges of abdominal segments as far forward as abdominal segment IV, often reaching margins, also sometimes present on segment III and head. Trilocular pores evenly distributed. Oral rim ducts present on marginal areas of head, thorax and abdomen. Oral collar ducts of 2 sizes, both narrower than a trilocular pore; smaller size present across middle of abdominal segments to margins and on head and thorax; larger type present across segments III – VI, on lateral margins of all abdominal segments, and a few in median and marginal areas of thorax .

Distribution: Maconellicoccus hirsutus is known from 79 countries in the Afrotropical, Australian, Oriental, Nearctic, Neotropical and Palaearctic Regions including Iran ( García Morales et al. 2016), where it is found in Fars, Hormozgan, Khouzestan and Sistan & Balouchestan provinces ( Moghaddam 2013b).

Host-plants: The species has been recorded on host-plants in 230 genera belonging to 79 families ( García Morales et al. 2016). In Iran, it has been recorded on Anacardiaceae : Mangifera indica ; Arecaceae : Phoenix dactylifera ; Combretaceae : Terminalia catappa ; Convolvulaceae : Ipomoea sp. ; Fabaceae : Acacia arabica , Acacia sp. , Albizia sp. , Prosopis sp. and P. spicigera ; Lythraceae : Lawsonia inermis ; Malvaceae : Hibiscus rosa-sinensis and H. syriacus ; Moraceae : Ficus riligiosa and Morus alba ; Myrtaceae : Psidium guajava and Syzygium aromaticum ; Rhamnaceae : Zizyphus spina-christi ; Rutaceae : Citrus sinensis ; Salicaceae : Salix sp. ; and Tamaricaceae : Tamarix sp. ( Moghaddam 2013b) ; also, this mealybug has been recorded on Helianthus annuus (Asteraceae) , Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae) , Abutilon fruticosum (Malvaceae) ( Fallahzadeh et al. 2013); Vachellia nilotica (Fabaceae) ( Fallahzadeh & Japoshvili 2017); and: Calathea warszewiczii (Marantaceae) ( Fallahzadeh et al. 2007).

Economic importance: The date of introduction of this mealybug to Iran is not clear; the earliest specimens were collected from Hormozgan province in 1970. The author collected much material of M. hirsutus in southeast Iran in 2001, finding heavy infestations, especially on M. indica . The mealybug is expected to spread to other southern areas in Iran.

Natural enemies: In Iran, M. hirsutus is attacked by the Hymenopteran parasitiod wasps: Coccophagus pseudococci Compere , Marietta picta Andre (Aphelinidae) ; Anagyrus agraensis Saraswat , A. dactylopii (Howard) , A. pseudococci (Girault) (Encyrtidae) ; Allotropa mecrida (Walker) (Platygastridae) ; Pachymeuron muscarum (Linnaeus) (Pteromalidae) ; Chartocerus kurdjumovi (Nikolskaya) (Signiphoridae) ( Fallahzadeh et al. 2007), and Prochiloneurus bolivari Mercet (Encyrtidae) ( Fallahzadeh & Japoshvili 2017). The latter also recorded attacks by the predators: Cheilomenes sexmaculata (Fabricius) , Hyperaspis sp. , Nephus sp. and Scymnus nubilus Mulsant ( Coleoptera : Coccinellidae ) ( Fallahzadeh et al. 2013).

Comments: The accompanying illustration is reproduced from Moghaddam (2013a), page 34, Fig. 16 , with kind permission from the Chief Editor of Zootaxa.

Genus MIROCOCCUS Borchsenius

Mirococcus Borchsenius, 1947: 142 . Type species: Phenacoccus inermis Hall , by original designation. Polystomophora Borchsenius, 1948a: 955 . Aegyptococcus Ezzat, 1963: 164 . Longicoccus Danzig, 1975: 49 .

Principal characters: Slide-mounted adult female elongate to broadly oval, with body segmentation distinct. Antennae each with 7–9 segments. Legs normally developed; claw usually with a denticle. Cerarii absent. Circulus present or absent. Multilocular pores and oral collar ducts present on both surfaces. Quinquelocular pores sometimes present on venter. Both ventral and dorsal surfaces with minute simple and trilocular pores. Body setae on dorsum short and hairlike, longer and more numerous on venter. Anal ring with 1 row of pores, sometimes with a second incomplete row, and 6 setae, each about as long as diameter of ring.

Comments: Worldwide, 14 species are included in Mirococcus ( García Morales et al. 2016) ; one species is known from Iran (Moghaddam 2015).

Figures

FIGURE 16. Adult female of Dysmicoccus walkeri (Newstead).

FIGURE 25. Adult female of Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green). © Magnolia Press, www.mapress.com/j/zt, reproduced with the copyright holder’s permission.

FIGURE 67. Maps of species distributions in Iran.A. Dysmicoccus brevipes (Cockerell); B. Dysmicoccus caspianensis Moghaddam; C. Dysmicoccus walkeri (Newstead); D. Dysmicoccus zagrosicus Moghaddam; E. Erimococcus kimmericus (Kiritshenko); F. Erimococcus talhouki (Matile-Ferrero); G. Eurycoccus tamariscus Williams; H. Exallomochlus balouchestanensis Moghaddam; I. Ferrisia virgata (Cockerell); J. Formicococcus robustus (Ezzat & McConnell); K. Kiritshenkella sacchari (Green); L. Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green).