Melanaspis inopinata (Leonardi, 1913)

Hosseininaveh, Fatemeh, Nozari, Jamasb, Kaydan, Mehmet Bora & Hosseininaveh, Vahid, 2016, Molecular and morphological identification of pistachio armored scale insects (Hemiptera: Diaspididae), with description of a new species, Zootaxa 4200 (4), pp. 523-543 : 528-530

Melanaspis inopinata (Leonardi, 1913) .

Figure 1 .

Synonyms. Aonidiella inopinata Leonardi, 1913 ; Aonidiella robusta Grassi & Berlese in Berlese 1915 ; Melanaspis inopinata Bodenheimer, 1924 ; Chrysomphalus robusta Koroneos, 1934 ; Aspidiotus (Aonidiella) inopinata McKenzie, 1938 ; Melanaspis robustus McKenzie, 1939 ; Chrysomphalus inopinatus Ferris, 1941 ; Pelomphala inopinata Lupo, 1954 ; Melanaspis inopinata Borchsenius, 1966 ( García et al., 2016) .

Material examined. 6 adult females on 1 slide, Iran, Kerman, Baghin, N: 30° 10' 52", E: 56° 48' 20", 1,733 m, on branches and trunk of Pistacia vera , coll: F. Hosseininaveh, 22.x.2013, coll. no: MB-127, one individual used for drawing ; 6 adult females on 1 slide, Iran, Kerman, Sirjan, N: 29°22' 29", E: 55°44' 06", 1,726 m, on branches and trunk of P. vera , coll: F. Hosseininaveh, 22.x.2013, coll. no: MS-126.

Field characters. Female scale cover about 2.5 mm long, robust, subcircular, convex, usually dark brown in central area, greyish brown or dark grey toward edges; larval exuviae eccentric but not marginal, colour dark; ventral scale well developed, but the greater part remains attached to the plant. Male puparium scale cover oval, about 1.8 mm long, convex anteriorly, flattened at apex, paler than female scale; larval exuviae eccentric, dark brown.

Slide-mounted characteristics. Adult female pyriform, 1.70–1.85 (1.79) mm long and 1.49–1.70 (1.56) mm wide, cephalothorax and the anterior abdominal segments without sclerotized area. Thoracic tubercle absent. Antennae normally each with 1 long and 1 very small seta. Perispiracular pores absent. Distance from apex of the median lobe to anteriormost edge of pygidial sclerotized area 0.2 times body length. Pygidium wide and obtuse, with 4 pairs of lobes (L1, L2, L3, L4). Median lobes (L1) each 15–16 (15) µm wide, lobes parallel, symmetrical, rounded and without notches or each with low lateral notch; separated by space 0.2–0.3 (0.2) times width of median lobe; medial margins with axes parallel or diverging apically, lateral margins converging apically. Second lobes (L2) each 16–18 (17) µm wide, asymmetrical, barely wider than median lobe, with 2 lateral notches, medial notches absent. Third lobes (L3) each 16–18 (17) µm wide, asymmetrical, about same size as second lobe, with 3 lateral notches, medial notches absent. Fourth lobes (L4) simple, each 8–10 (9) µm wide, generally reduced, pressed into the margin of segment V and slightly protruding. Pectinae very short, reduced to small protruding plates, the lateralmost generally most developed, formula commonly 1-2-2. Marginal paraphyses robust, fusiform and approximately all same size; paraphysis formula always 2-3-3. Margin of segment V heavily sclerotized. Anal opening oval, diameter 0.7 times less than width of L1, located relatively high, almost in central area of pygidium. Dorsal macroducts very long, with oval orifices; ducts from some groups extend over entire height of pygidium; with 2 macroducts between L1 and L2 each 173–178 (177) µm long; an oblique row of 6 or 7 large macroducts each 178–181 (180) µm long in cuticular groove between L2 and L3, each orifice surrounded externally by sclerotized area; 4 or 5 smaller macroducts present in sclerotized part of segment IV; marginal area of segment V with 13–19 (16) macroducts along its entire length, each 89–92 (90) µm long. Dorsal macroducts absent between prepygidial segments and head. Oblique and transverse dorsal cuticular grooves of pygidium well marked. Microducts absent from dorsum but numerous on venter of abdominal segments II and III, in groups 7–16, each 27–35 (31) µm long; 3 of these groups present in submarginal areas of segments IV and V. Apico-ventral area of pygidium with slightly oblique longitudinal sclerotization, extending almost to vulva. Three papillate appendages (each 2.5 µm in length and 1.5 µm in width) present in submarginal area of pygidial segments VI–VIII, situated anteriorly to L1, L2 and third group of paraphyses.

Host plant s. Acer sp., A. cinerascens Boiss. (Aceraceae) ; Pistacia atlantica Desf. , P. khinjuk Stocks , P. lentiscus L., P. palaestina Boiss. , P. terebinthus L., P. vera (Anacardiaceae) ; Arbutus unedo L. ( Ericaceae ); Astragalus sp., Cercis siliquastrum L., Sophora japonica L. ( Fabaceae ); Juglans regia L. ( Juglandaceae ); Fraxinus sp., Jasminum fruticans L. ( Oleaceae ); Rhamnus rhodopea Velen. (Rhamnaceae) ; Amygdalus orientalis Mill. , Cotoneaster sp., Crataegus sp., C. monogyna Jacq. , Malus sp., M. domestica Borkh. , Prunus sp., P. armeniaca L., P. avium L., P. silvatica Roxb. , Pyrus sp., P. communis L., P. elaeagnifolia Pall. , P. malus L., P. nigra (Willd.) Sarg. (Rosaceae) ; Populus nigra L. ( Salicaceae ); Celtis tournefortii Lam. (Ulmaceae) ( García et al., 2016).

Distribution. Armenia, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Pakistan, Sardinia, Sicily, Turkey ( García et al., 2016).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Adult female of Melanaspis inopinata (Leonardi), illustration by Hosseininaveh.