Poliaspoides bambusae, Ulgenturk, Selma & Pellizzari, Giuseppina, 2013

Ulgenturk, Selma & Pellizzari, Giuseppina, 2013, A new species of Poliaspoides MacGillivray (Hemiptera, Diaspididae) on Bambusa siamensis (Poaceae) imported into Turkey, Zootaxa 3694 (5), pp. 493-499 : 494-496

Poliaspoides bambusae sp. n. Ülgentürk & Pellizzari

Description.

Material examined: Holotype: Adult female, Ankara, Turkey, 15.ii. 2011, ex Bambusa siamensis imported from eastern or southern Asia (source unknown), coll: Ülgentürk, slide n. 3007 (AUAT).

Paratypes: 3 adult females and 3 first-instar nymphs (latter within body of adult females), same data as holotype, slides n. 3008 (2 ♀ ♀), 4544 (AUAT) and 1 female on 1 slide (n. 4543) in the collection of the British Museum of Natural History, London, UK (BMNH).

Adult female ( Fig. 1)

Unmounted specimens: Scale cover white and oval; exuviae transparent. Body oval-pyriform, with head and thorax wider than abdomen.

Mounted specimens: Body elongate, inversely pyriform, 1.2 (0.95–1.45) mm long and 0.67 (0.56–0.77) mm wide at mesothorax. Derm sclerotised on margins of thorax and abdomen, medial part membranous.

Venter: Antenna tubercle-like, with 2 setae and 2 associated sensilla. Anterior and posterior spiracles with peritreme about 13 µm wide. Anterior spiracle with 1–4 spiracular trilocular pores; posterior spiracle without spiracular pores but with a group of 3–7 microducts close to peritreme within an area of sclerotisation. Microducts found more or less throughout but sparsely along submargin of head and thorax, distributed in transverse rows on abdomen, in groups of 4–10 on submargin of abdominal segments I–IV and medially on abdominal segment IV; sparse on pygidium. Dermal striations present on margin between abdominal segments III and IV and IV and V and on pygidial margin. Intersegmental indentations present between anterior abdominal segments. Pygidium slightly rounded, 380 (350–400) µm wide at widest point, sclerotised, with small sclerotised marginal indentations and with longitudinal cuticular striations. Lobes, plates, gland spines and perivulvar pores absent. Vulva sclerotised and situated more or less beneath anal opening.

Dorsum: With 3 large submarginal macroducts on each side of pygidium; microducts, similar to those on venter, scattered medially on pygidium plus groups of 3–9 on marginal and submarginal areas of each prepygidial segment. With three marginal setae and two submarginal setae on each side. Anal opening minute, surrounded by a dark ring, 16 µm wide (including dark ring), located at centre of pygidium.

Comments. Poliaspoides bambusae clearly differs from P. formosana (characters of P. formosana in brackets) in the absence of perivulvar pores (present in 5 groups), presence of dorsal ducts of two sizes (one size only), and in having only 1–4 trilocular pores associated with each anterior spiracle (4–10, according to Ben-Dov & Takagi, 1974).

The adult female of P. bambusae differs from that of P. simplex (characters of P. s i m p l e x in brackets) in the absence of perivulvar pores (present in 5–7 groups) and the absence of spiracular pores near each posterior spiracle but with a group of microducts in this position (1-3 spiracular pores around posterior spiracles (Green, 1899)). The absence of perivulvar pores in the adult female is usually associated with viviparity or ovoviviparty, and this is confirmed by the presence of first-instar nymphs within the body of P. bambusae .