Ceroplastes paucispinus De Lotto

Hodgson, Chris J. & Peronti, Ana L. B. G., 2012, 3372, Zootaxa 3372, pp. 1-265 : 166-168

Ceroplastes paucispinus De Lotto

( Fig. 75; Map fig. 105)

Ceroplastes paucispinus De Lotto, 1970: 143 .

Material examined: Paratype: South Africa, Northern Cape Province, Nossob Camp , on Acacia giraffae , 28.viii.1968, J. Munting ( USNM): 1/1 (good) .

Note. Data in brackets [..] taken from De Lotto, 1970.

Unmounted material. “Living young adult females slightly to fairly strongly convex; wax test obscurely divided into plates, 3 bilateral, 1 cephalic and 1 dorsal, at the centre of each of which there is a small opaque white boss; dorsal submarginal depression shallow; wax rather soft in texture; general colouration dark brown.” ( De Lotto, 1970: 143).

Mounted material. Body oval; lateral processes poorly developed; caudal process short and conical, heavily sclerotised. Body length 2.38 mm, width on slide 1.5 mm; width of venter 1.38 mm.

Dorsum. Derm entirely membranous, except for heavily sclerotised caudal process. Caudal process short, conical, 0.5 mm long, 0.7 mm wide, with a many pores and setae. Derm with eight clear areas, distributed as usual, although those dorsad to posterior stigmatic clefts perhaps rather larger than others. Dorsal setae relatively large and spinose but variable in length, from subequal to width of basal socket to about twice width (length 5–11 µm; basal socket width 6–7 µm); with convergent sides, rather blunt when short but more pointed when long; frequent throughout and with occasional setae in clear areas. Dorsal pores perhaps of 1 type only: (i) loculate microducts of intermediate type, each about 4.0–6.5 µm wide with a large primary loculus and with mainly 2–4 satellite loculi; pores with 1 satellite loculus occasionally noted; present throughout but absent from all clear areas; wax plate lines clear; (ii) simple microducts not detected and considered to be absent. Preopercular pores not detected and considered to be absent [although possibly illustrated in De Lotto’s figure (1970, p.144)]. Anal plates each 150 [140–170] µm long, combined width about 125 [110–120] µm; each with 3 pairs of long dorsal setae on posterior third, each at least 40 µm long, plus a smaller subapical seta, length unknown. Anal tube subequal to length of anal plates. Anal ring setae each 185–200 µm long.

Margin. Marginal setae rather spinose, each 10–17 µm long, with about 14 between eyespots, and, on each side, 9 between eyespots and anterior stigmatic setae, 10–12 between stigmatic clefts and about 13–16 on each side of abdomen (although none on posterior 1/5 th on available specimen); with 3 anal lobe setae, longest about 40 µm long. Stigmatic clefts shallow, each with a group of 6 or 7 [4–8] conical stigmatic setae in 2 rows, each group generally with 3–5 setae along margin; largest generally most dorsal, each 18 µm long and 10 µm wide at base; smallest 8 µm long, 5 µm wide. Eyespots each about 35 µm wide.

Venter. Derm entirely membranous. Pregenital disc-pores abundant around vulva and in segment VI, and with 1 or 2 submedially and 4 medially in V; plus 1 submedially in segments IV–II but absent medially; also with a single pore mesad to a metacoxa on metathorax. Spiracular disc-pores in fairly narrow bands, widest at either end; each band with 40–60 pores. Ventral microducts showing nothing distinctive. Ventral tubular ducts each with an unusually broad cup-shaped invagination; most inner ductules with a glandular end but variable; inner ductules sometimes slightly swollen basally; with about 33 in cephalic region; absent elsewhere. Submarginal setae very similar to marginal setae but with a flagellate apex, each 15–20 µm long; about as frequent as marginal setae.

Antennae on available specimen 7 segmented but probably due to a pseudo-articulation in segment III; each antenna 325 (315–355) µm long. Clypeolabral shield about 165 µm long. Spiracles small, width of anterior peritremes 50 µm, posterior peritremes 58–60 µm. Legs well developed, each with a distinct tibio-tarsal articulatory sclerosis; each claw with a distinct denticle; claw digitules both broad; dimensions of metathoracic legs (µm): coxa 165; trochanter + femur 215 [210–240]; tibia 175; tarsus 95 [tibia + tarsus 250–295], and claw 30; tarsal digitules subequal to or a little longer than claw digitules.

Discussion. Within this species-group, C. paucispinus differs from C. delottoi in having fewer than 20 stigmatic setae in each cleft, and from the other 2 species as follows (character states for C. elytropappi and C. tachardiaformis in brackets): (i) presence of a well-developed tibio-tarsal articulation (absent), (ii) presence of tubular ducts in the cephalic region (absent in C. elytropappi ), and (iii) absence of tubular ducts in abdomen (present).

C. paucispinus is currently only known from the original collection in Cape Province, South Africa, on Acacia sp. (Fabaceae) .