Poliaspis Maskell

Hardy, Nate & Henderson, Rosa C., 2011, Revision of Poliaspis (Hemiptera, Coccoidea, Diaspididae), with descriptions of 8 new species from Australia, ZooKeys 137, pp. 1-40 : 2-3

Genus Poliaspis Maskell

Poliaspis Maskell, 1880: 293. Type species: Poliaspis media Maskell, monotypy.

Description.

Scale cover. Round to elongate-oval, white, flocculent wax sometimes present, exuvia terminal (after Henderson 2011).

Slide-mounted adult female. Body outline variable: linear, turbinate, pyriform, fusiform or oval, prepygidial abdominal margin weakly incised between segments to strongly lobed. Margin of pygidium rounded; incised between median lobes in some species, not incised in others. Two pairs of lobes in all species except Poliaspis wilga comb. n. (only medial pair) and some New Zealand species (3rd lobe represented by three pointed projections); median lobes zygotic (except in Poliaspis ceraflora ), parallel or divergent, apex variable - rounded or pointed; pair of setae between median lobes in most species; second lobes bi-lobed or undivided; basal scleroses present or absent. Simple gland spines present; most species with 1 gland spine on each side of each pygidial segment (other than segment 8), but gland spines may be absent on segment 7 (in area adjacent to lateral margin of medial lobe, e.g. Poliaspis ozothamnae sp. n.), or absent from pygidial segment 5 ( Poliaspis ceraflora sp. n., Poliaspis callitris comb. rev.), or 2-6 may be present on each side of segments 5 and 6 ( Poliaspis ozothamnae ; Poliaspis nalbo sp. n.); length of gland spines variable, from about as long as median lobes to> 5 × length of median lobes. Anus in anterior third of pygidium; opening round. Trilocular pores in cluster near each anterior spiracle, some species also with pores near posterior spiracles. Antenna with 1 or 2 fleshy setae. Perivulvar pores quinquelocular, in 8 groups; 5 groups on abdominal segment 6, and 3 groups on abdominal segment 5. Dorsal ducts 2-barred; ducts on pygidial margin larger than medial ducts in most species; distribution of enlarged marginal ducts: 1 between median and second lobes; 1-2 on segment 6, laterad of second lobes; 2 on segment 5; dorsal ducts (other than those on margin) decreasing in size anteriorly; absent from abdominal segment 7; discrete submarginal and submedial rows of ducts present on any of abdominal segments 2-6: 1-10 submedial ducts present on abdominal segment 6, 4-12 submarginal and 4-15 submedial ducts present on segment 5. Some species with dorsal boss present on submargin of each of abdominal segments 1 and 3. Small ducts similar to dorsal ducts present on ventral submargin. Ventral gland tubercles in marginal / submarginal clusters on thoracic and pre-pygidial abdominal segments. Microducts present on venter, at least along abdominal submargin.

Comments.

Nearly all other armored scale insect species have perivulvar pores in no more than 5 clusters, and restricted to abdominal segment 7. Species of Leucaspis Signoret and Lopholeucaspis Balachowsky are exceptions to this generalization; more than 5 clusters of multilocular pores may be present on the abdomen, but the extra pores occur on the submargin of abdominal segments 6 and 5. More pertinent exceptions are species in the African genera Rolaspis Hall, Tecaspis Hall, and Dentachionaspis MacGillivray, which have extra perivulvar pores, which occur in the same places as in Poliaspis ( Hall 1946; Munting 1965, 1967). Described African species with extra groups of perivulvar pores invariably have marginal macroducts with elongate ductules. This feature is enough of a reason for us to refrain from taking any nomenclatural action at this time.

Key to species of Poliaspis (excluding Poliaspis intermedia , and Poliaspis casuarinicola )

* denotes New Zealand species