Ovaticoccus agavacearum Pellizzari and Kozár

Miller, Douglass R. & Stocks, Ian C., 2022, New genera and species of felt scales (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Eriococcidae), with descriptions of new species and immature instars of described species, Zootaxa 5221 (1), pp. 1-213 : 96

Ovaticoccus agavacearum Pellizzari and Kozár

Ovaticoccus agavacearum Pellizzari and Kozár 2011: 63–65 .

Type specimens: We have been unable to locate material of this species from North America; it was originally described from Italy on potted Yucca by Pellizzari and Kozár (2011) including detailed illustrations and descriptions of the adult female and first-instar nymph, and that information will not be repeated here .

Etymology: “The species name [ agavacearum ] means ‘of the Agavaceae’ after the family of the host plant on which this species was collected.” ( Pellizzari & Kozár 2011: 63).

Notes: Ovaticoccus agavacearum is similar to Ov. agavium but differs as follows, as given by Pellizzari and Kozár (2011: 64): adult female with “macrotubular ducts on head and thorax (only on the abdomen in O. agavium ) and few cruciform pores, these restricted to the abdominal segments (numerous, and also on thorax in O. agavium ). Moreover, the dome-shaped spines are very few and of one size (numerous, and of different size on O. agavium ). The first-instar nymph of O. agavacearum is similar to that of O. agavium but the latter sometimes has two cruciform pores on each side of the last abdominal segments, the anal ring has only two sclerotized lateral plates and the setae are hair-like.” Based on the illustrations of Ov. agavacearum it also is similar to Ov. exoticus in having four setae on each femur, including one proximal seta, but differs by having macrotubular ducts on the dorsum (absent in Ov. exoticus ) and few dorsal enlarged setae (many in Ov. exoticus ).