Liucoccus Borchsenius, 1960

Gavrilov, Ilya A., 2007, A revision of the mealybug genus Mirococcopsis Borchsenius (Homoptera: Coccinea: Pseudococcidae) based on the structure of the adult females, Zootaxa 1586, pp. 1-23 : 4-5

Subgenus Liucoccus Borchsenius, 1960 , stat. n.

Liucoccus Borchsenius, 1960: 930 .

Type species— Liucoccus ehrhornioides Borchsenius, 1960 , by original designation.

Subgeneric diagnosis. All tubular ducts wide, about 6 μm wide. Trilocular pores with heavily sclerotised rims. Translucent pores on hind coxae very numerous and also present on derm of metathorax near hind coxae.

Taxonomic notes. L. ehrhornioides , the only species in the subgenus Liucoccus , differs from the other species discussed here in Mirococcopsis in having only wide tubular ducts ( M. teberdae and M. nagyi both have some wide ducts but also have narrow ducts), trilocular pores with sclerotised rims and translucent pores on the derm of the metathorax. These characters, to my mind, are not enough to justify putting Liucoccus in a separate genus.

1. Mirococcopsis (Liucoccus) ehrhornioides ( Borchsenius, 1960) , comb. nov. (Fig. 1) Liucoccus ehrhornioides Borchsenius, 1960: 930 . Tang, 1992: 97.

Adult female. Body elongate oval, pink, up to 4.5 mm long and 1.5 mm wide. Eyes about 16 μm in diameter. Antennae 6 segmented, about 224 μm long. Legs small in comparison with body; lengths in μm: trochanter + femur 140–160; tibia + tarsus + claw 140 (fore legs); 150 μm (middle); 176 μm (hind legs). Hind coxae often larger than fore and middle coxae, with numerous translucent pores resembling discoidal pores; these pores also present on derm of metathorax near coxae. Two pairs of ostioles present. Circulus absent. Anal ring rounded, about 64 μm in diameter, simplified, with an incomplete row of minute, barely visible cells; microspines absent and anal ring setae short. Multilocular pores (each with 10-12 loculi and about 8 μm in diameter) forming a band along ventral margin of body, in compact groups near each spiracle and across venter of abdominal segments VI-VIII. Trilocular pores, each about 5 μm in diameter, with sclerotised rims around each pore (unusual for Mirococcopsis spp.); present throughout both body surfaces and in groups near spiracles and inside of peritremes. Simple discoidal pores absent. Tubular ducts very broad, with small collar, each about 9 μm long and 6 μm wide, restricted to a narrow band along body margin. Cerarii entirely absent. Short, thin flagellate setae present on both body surfaces.

Material examined. 6 females (including holotype) from China, Yunnan Province, vicinity of Kingtung, under leaf sheath of Phragmites sp., 10 and 21.III.1957, N. Borchsenius

Distribution. China: Yunnan Province.

Mode of life. Adult females live under the leaf sheath of Phragmites sp.

FIGURE. 1. Mirococcopsis (Liucoccus) ehrhornioides (Borchsenius) , China, Yunnan Province.