Spilococcus alhagii (Hall)

Moghaddam, Masumeh, 2013, A review of the mealybugs (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae, Putoidae and Rhizoecidae) of Iran, with descriptions of four new species and three new records for the Iranian fauna, Zootaxa 3632 (1), pp. 1-107 : 81-83

Spilococcus alhagii (Hall)

( Fig. 45 )

Pseudococcus alhagii Hall, 1926: 7 .

DIAGNOSIS. Adult female narrowly to broadly oval. Antennae 8 segmented. Claw with a minute denticle. Hind tibia with a series of unusually large translucent pores on posterior surface. Cerarii numbering at most 15 or 16 pairs. Anal lobe cerarii each with a pair of conical setae, plus about 5 auxiliary setae and a cluster of trilocular pores. Anterior abdominal cerarii each with a pair of much more slender and shorter conical setae than setae on anal lobes, and with 4 or 5 trilocular pores. C1 and C3 on head usually discernible, each with slender paired setae similar to normal dorsal setae; sometimes cerarii difficult to locate. Circulus divided by an intersegmental line. Both pairs of ostioles well developed. Setae on dorsal surface short and slender, mainly across middle of segments; ventral setae similar but most a little longer. Multilocular disc pores present only on venter, mainly on posterior edges of adominal segments VI and VII but with a few near anterior edges, and also present posterior to vulva. Trilocular pores evenly distributed on dorsum and venter. Oral rim ducts present on dorsum, mainly in rows across middle of segments; on venter, sometimes absent or with a few on thorax. Oral collar ducts present only on venter, across middle of most abdominal segments to margins; a few also present around margins of head and thorax and occasionally 1 or 2 situated medially on thorax.

DISTRIBUTION. Palaearctic: Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran and Saudi Arabia. In Iran, S. alhagii occurs in Esfahan, Fars and Khouzestan. S. alhagii is known from 7 plant families (Ben-Dov et al. 2012)

MATERIAL EXAMINED: Esfahan: Shahreza - 15 km to Esfahan, 1 adult Ƥ, on Punica granatum (Lythraceae) , 17.ix. 2009, 1614 m. Fars: Darab, Roodbal River, 1 adult Ƥ,on Ziziphus spina-christi (Rhamnaceae) , 26.iv.2000. Khouzestan: Ahvaz, 3 adult Ƥ, on Z. spina-christi , 14.vii.1990 (G. Asadeh).

COMMENTS. S. alhagii is apparently polyphagous and is known from other countries in the Middle East. Williams & Moghaddam, (2007) reported this species for the first time from Iran on Ziziphus sp. It has now also been found on P. granatum in Esfahan. The characters of S. alhagii show wide variation in all the material examined. The plant family Lythraceae is a new record for S. alhagii .

The accompanying illustration is reproduced from Williams & Moghaddam (2007).

Figures

FIGURE 45. Adult female Spilococcus alhagii (Hall).