Genus Neomargarodes Green, 1914

Neomargarodes Green, 1914: 263, accepted valid name.

Margarodiella Jakubski, 1965: 81, nomen nudum.

Type species: Neomargarodes erythrocephala Green, 1914 .

Generic diagnosis

Adult female: In life, body broadly oval, hairy and yellowish white. Foreleg fossorial and well developed, middle and hind legs small; living underground. Slide-mounted specimens with derm membranous, body covered by hair-like setae. Antennae stout and more-or-less conical, each 6 segmented; scape broadest and membranous, remaining segments sclerotized; pedicel with a group of sensilla; most segments each with long hair-like setae and sensory setae. Eyespots and mouthparts absent. Thoracic spiracles developed, each with apodeme and a group of perispiracular sensilla laterad to peritreme; abdominal spiracles numbering 8 pairs; thoracic and abdominal spiracular atria each containing simple pores and multilocular disc-pores. Foreleg fossorial, with short coxa, trochanter with campaniform sensilla on each lateroventral face; femur strongly developed, with a group of long hair-like setae ventrally and many small setae laterally; tibia + tarsus + claw fused together, short and sclerotized, with campaniform sensilla dorsally; strongly sclerotized claw with different shapes of protrusions. Middle and hind legs small, each similar in structure to foreleg but with tibia separated from tarsus. Anal tube with a pair of sclerotized bars. Vulva situated on venter of last segment, surrounded by wrinkles. Abdomen with fold structures on both surfaces; each segment with hair-like setae and multilocular disc-pores in transverse segmental bands; with disc-pores becoming more numerous posteriorly, each loculus of posterior pores with indented outer margin.

Comments: Adult female Neomargarodes can be distinguished from those of other genera of hypogeal margarodids by having the following major characters (contrasting character states in Margarodes and/or Porphyrophora are given in parenthesis): (i) abdominal spiracles numbering 8 pairs (no more than 7 pairs); (ii) thoracic and abdominal spiracles with multilocular disc-pores and simple pores in atria (only thoracic spiracles contain atrial pores in Porphyrophora); (iii) foreleg claw base with a large prominent heel (foreleg claw base without a large prominent heel, either with prominences or simple); (iv) antennae 6 segmented, setose and more-or-less conical (with 7‒18 segments); (v) spines absent (present in Margarodes); (vi) eyespots absent (present in Porphyrophora); and (vii) derm of abdomen folded and sometimes sclerotized (abdominal derm not folded or sclerotised).

In China, four species of Neomargarodes have been recorded, mostly inhabiting the northern regions: Nei Monggol Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Hebei, Henan, Shandong and Shaanxi provinces; but Neomargarodes niger (Green) is recorded from southern region, Yunnan Province, and its accurate identification is questionable. Host plants of Neomargarodes species belong to the families Amaranthaceae, Araceae, Asteraceae, Cannabaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Cyperaceae, Dioscoreaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Malvaceae, Poaceae, Rosaceae and Zygophyllaceae . Neomargarodes cucurbitae Tang & Hao is a pest of hamimelon ( Cucumis melo) and watermelon ( Citrullus lanatus), and Neomargarodes gossypii Yang poses a threat to peanuts ( Arachis hypogaea).