Kiritshenkella sacchari (Green)

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 : 31

Kiritshenkella sacchari (Green)

( Fig.15 )

Ripersia sacchari Green, 1900: 37 . Ripersia cellulosa Hall, 1923: 7 . Kiritshenkella stataria Borchsenius, 1948b: 583 . Pseudantonina fushanensis Borchsenius, 1958: 158 . Kiritshenkella shirakensis Hadzibejli, 1960: 57 .

DIAGNOSIS. Mounted adult female elongate oval to oval. Anal lobes poorly to moderately developed, each with ventral surface bearing an apical seta usually shorter than anal ring setae. Antennae 6 segmented. Legs well developed, small for size of body. Hind coxae larger than anterior coxae, each with large translucent pores on both anterior and posterior surfaces, those on anterior surface extending onto surrounding derm. Cerarii present on anal lobes only, each cerarius with 2 slender conical setae, placed close together on a membranous area without trilocular pores. Circulus absent in examined specimens. Ostioles represented by posterior pair only, poorly developed. Anal ring with 3–4 rows of cells and 6 setae. Dorsal surface with short, slender setae, longest seta on abdominal segment VII. Ventral surface with normal flagellate setae. Multilocular disc pores numerous, present around margins and in rows across anterior and posterior edges of most segments; scattered on head; absent from medial areas of posterior abdominal segments. Trilocular pores present dorsally in a medial zone extending from prothorax or mesothorax to abdominal segment VIII; ventrally near midline, extending posteriorly from metathorax to about abdominal segment VII. Discoidal pores minute, scattered on dorsum and venter. Dorsal oral collar ducts with wide conical- to flange-shaped internal collars and short tubes, numerous around marginal areas. Ventral oral collar ducts similar to those on dorsum, numerous, present in marginal areas, extending to submedial parts of abdominal segments IV–VII.

DISTRIBUTION. Neotropical, Oriental, Palaearctic: Afghanistan, Egypt, Georgia, Iran, Israel, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. In Iran, K. sacchari occurs in Khouzestan. It is known from Cyperaceae and Poaceae (Ben-Dov et al., 2012) .

MATERIAL EXAMINED: Khouzestan: Ahvaz, 3 adult Ƥ, on Saccharum officinarum (Poaceae) , 1.ix.1951, (Unknown).

COMMENTS. Ali (1958) reported heavy infestations of K. sacchari in Bihar, and later reported it as a minor sporadic pest there. According to Williams (1970), although widespread on sugarcane in India, this species is not a pest, and it is not an agricultural problem in Iran.

Figures

FIGURE 15. Adult female Kiritshenkella sacchari (Green).