Ceroplastes floridensis Comstock, 1881

Choi, Jinyeong, Soysouvanh, Pheophanh, Lee, Seunghwan & Hong, Ki-Jeong, 2018, Review of the family Coccidae (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) in Laos, Zootaxa 4460 (1), pp. 1-62 : 16

Ceroplastes floridensis Comstock, 1881

( Figs 10 , 11 )

Ceroplastes floridensis Comstock, 1881: 331 .

Diagnosis. Body covered with thick white wax without a distinct dorsal horn at maturity ( Fig. 10A ). Dorsum with Ceroplastes - type pores of 4 types present: mono-, bi-, tri- and quadrilocular pores ( Fig. 11A ); bi- or trilocular pores frequent; anal plates each with 1 discal seta and 3 apical setae ( Fig. 11D ); and dorsal setae blunt, sparsely present on dorsum except for clear areas ( Fig. 11B ). Marginal setae numbering 8–12 in a row between anterior and posterior stigmatic clefts on each side ( Figs 10C , 11J ). Stigmatic clefts shallow, each with conical or bullet-shaped stigmatic spines arranged in about 2–3 rows ( Figs 10D , 11K ). Venter with multilocular disc-pores present on all abdominal segments, with a few pores present laterad of meta-, meso- and procoxa ( Fig. 11E ); tubular ducts each with a swollen inner ductule, arranged in submarginal ring ( Figs 10G , 11G ); antenna 6 segmented ( Figs 10E , 11L ); and legs without tibio-tarsal articulatory scleroses ( Figs 10F , 11F ) (partially adopted from Hodgson & Peronti 2012).

Material examined. 2 ♀♀, LAOS, Pakse Dist., Champasak Prov., 11.vii. 2015, coll. P.P. Soysouvanh, on Duranta erecta L. ( Verbenaceae ); 1 ♀, Pakngum Dist., Vientiane Capital, 13.i.2015, on Nephrolepis sp. ( Nephrolepidaceae ) (same collector); 1 ♀, on Chrysophyllum cainito L. ( Sapotaceae ) (same locality, date and collector); 1 ♀, 2.viii.2016 (same locality, host plant and collector).

Hosts. Polyphagous. According to García Morales et al. (2016), C. floridensis has been recorded from plants belonging to 152 genera in 67 families.

Distribution. All zoogeographical regions; Oriental Region ( India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam) ( García Morales et al. 2016); Laos (new country record).

Economic importance. Hamon & Williams (1984) noted that C. floridensis is an economic pest on diverse ornamental plants; it has also been recorded as an important pest of citrus in the Aegean islands ( Argyriou & Kourmadas 1980), Egypt ( Salem & Zaki 1984; Swailem et al. 1976), Florida ( Hamon & Williams 1984), Israel ( Podoler et al. 1981; Peleg & Bar-Zakay 1995), the Mediterranean basin ( Argov et al. 1987) and Turkey ( Elekçioğlu & Senal 2007).

Remarks. Ceroplastes floridensis is rather closely related to C. japonicus Green , but differs from it mainly in the arrangement of the stigmatic spines. Adult females of C. floridensis have the groups of stigmatic spines distinctly separated by marginal setae between anterior and posterior stigmatic clefts; whereas C. japonicas has an almost continuous row of stigmatic spines between the clefts, with only a few marginal setae scattered amongst them ( Hodgson & Peronti 2012).

Figures

FIGURE 10. Ceroplastes floridensis Comstock, 1881. A, adult female in life; B, slide-mounted adult female; C, marginal setae between anterior and posterior stigmatic clefts; D, stigmatic spines; E, antenna; F, leg; G, ventral tubular ducts on submarginal area. Scale lines for B = 0.5 mm; C, D = 50 µm; E, F = 100 µm; G = 10 µm.

FIGURE 11. Ceroplastes floridensis Comstock, 1881, adult female, from Hodgson & Peronti (2012). A1-3, Ceroplastes-type pores; B, dorsal seta; C, reticulation on caudal process; D, anal plates; E, multilocular disc-pore; F, leg; G, ventral tubular duct; H, cruciform pore; I, spiracular disc-pore; J, marginal setae; K, stigmatic spines.