Orafortis luma Hardy, 2006

Kondo, Takumasa, Hardy, Nate, Cook, Lyn & Gullan, Penny, 2006, Description of two new genera and species of Eriococcidae (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) from southern South America, Zootaxa 1349 (1), pp. 19-36 : 30-32

Orafortis luma Hardy sp. nov.

( Figs 2C , 4 )

Type material. HOLOTYPE, adult female. CHILE: X Region, Parque Nacional Alerce Andino , 41°27’52” S, 72°38’42” W, 120 m, 19.ii.2006, coll. T. Kondo, ex test on twig of Amomyrtus luma (MNNC) . PARATYPES: CHILE: same data as holotype, 13 adult females (6 BME + 2 BMNH + 2 MNNC + 2 USNM), 5 first-instar nymphs (in poor condition) on 1 slide ( BME) .

Description of adult female (n = 14)

Live appearance. Insect concealed within spiky test, ca. 2 mm long, ca. 1 mm wide, cryptic upon hirsute stems and leaf or stem axils of host ( Fig. 2C ). Test comprised of numerous glassy filaments, 0.2–0.4 mm long, arising from tightly-woven matrix, with rounded anal opening ca. 0.3 mm in diameter. Test of the male ca. 1.5 mm long, occurring on underside of leaves.

Mounted material. Body outline ovate ( Fig. 4 ), 1.30–1.64 mm long, 0.90–1.08 mm wide. Eyespot 20 µm wide. Antennae 205–215 µm long; 3 hair-like setae (trichoid sensilla) on segment I, 2 hair-like setae on segment II, 3 hair-like setae on segment III, 1 fleshy seta on segment IV, 4 hair-like setae and 1 fleshy seta on segment V, about 6 hairlike setae and 3 fleshy setae on segment VI. Tentorial box 125–150 µm long, 120–137 µm wide. Labium 75–88 µm long, 75–87 µm wide across base, with 7 pairs of setae: 1 pair on basal segment, 1 pair on medial segment, and 5 pairs on apical segment (including minute apical setae). All legs with trochanter + femur 122–137 µm long, tibia + tarsus 147–175 µm long; tarsal digitules 40–50 µm long, claw digitules 25–30 µm long, all digitules slender with moderately expanded apices, 2 µm wide; claw denticle present; translucent pores present as heavily sclerotized pits with either small circular or irregular slit-like openings 1–10 µm long, 5–10 pores on dorsal surface of each hind coxa; microtrichia on ventral side of all coxae. Spiracular peritremes: mesothoracic 20–22 µm wide; metathoracic 25–30 µm wide. Anal lobes: dorsolateral lobe seta 32–37 µm long, dorsomedial lobe seta 52–55 µm long, dorsoapical lobe seta 60–65 µm long, caudal seta 117–125 µm long, ventral lobe seta 50–55 µm long. Anal ring 125–150 µm long, 50–55 µm wide. Suranal setae 70–80 µm long.

Dorsum: Setae conical, each seta 22–70 µm long; arranged in transverse rows across each body segment, rows increasingly irregular cephalad. Macrotubular ducts of 2 size classes; smaller ducts about 25 µm long, 4 µm wide, with distinct dermal rim around orifice, 5–7 µm in diameter, distributed similar to setae, in transverse rows across body segments, more numerous and irregularly placed cephalad; larger ducts about 30 µm long, dilated near inner ductule, ca. 10 µm wide, dermal orifice sclerotic, 6 µm in diameter; in a marginal series. Microtubular ducts, about 15 µm long, orifice 1–2 µm in diameter; scattered across dorsum, with 1–3 opening at base of each dorsal seta, plus about 4 on dorsal surface of each anal lobe.

Venter: Flagellate setae each 20–60 µm long; in transverse row across medial portion of abdominal segments I–VII, plus a few medial to each coxa and a number in a paired longitudinal series extending from scape to tentorial box; short spinose setae, 8–15 µm long. Macrotubular ducts scattered across all segments. Multilocular pores 5 µm in diameter, most with 5 loculi, a few with 7 loculi; distributed across all body segments, with weak concentrations on submedial areas of each abdominal segment and near spiracles but not forming a group between spiracles and margin; also with 2–5 incorporated into each sclerotic spiracular peritreme.

Etymology. The species epithet “ luma ”, a noun in apposition, is derived from the host plant: Amomyrtus luma .

Diagnosis. Orafortis luma appears superficially similar to Eriococcus Targioni Tozzetti sensu lato species but can be distinguished from all Eriococcus species described from Chile by (i) the distinct sclerotic rim around the dermal orifice of the macrotubular ducts, (ii) sclerotic nodules on dorsal surface of posterior abdominal segments, (iii) microtubular ducts opening at bases of enlarged dorsal setae, and (iv) two size classes of dorsal macrotubular ducts. Only three species of Eriococcus are known from species of Myrtaceae in South America ( Miller & Gimpel 2000; Ben-Dov et al. 2006): E. jorgenseni Morrison from Psidium (and perhaps also from Myricaceae ) in Argentina ( Morrison 1919), E. lanatus Hempel from Eugenia in Brazil ( Hempel 1932), and E. perplexus Hempel from Eugenia and Myrciaria in Brazil ( Hempel 1900; Miller & Gimpel 2000). O. luma can be distinguished from E. jorgenseni by (i) the variable size, and acute apices of the dorsal setae (all dorsal setae are approximately the same size and have rounded apices in E. jorgenseni ), (ii) 6-segmented antennae (7-segmented in E. jorgenseni ) and (iii) only 5–10 translucent pores on each hind coxa (ca. 40 large pores in E. jorgenseni ). O. luma differs from E. lanatus in the following: (i) test with a distinct anal orifice (no anal orifice detected in E. lanatus ), (ii) antennae 6-segmented (7-segmented in E. lanatus ), (iii) only 5–10 translucent pores on each hind coxa (40 or more visible on hind legs of E. lanatus ), and (iv) all legs not thickened. E. perplexus also has 7-segmented antennae and all legs thickened and further differs from O. luma by having only 6 anal ring setae. O. luma can be distinguished from all Chilean Eriococcus species as indicated in couplet 7 of the following key.

Notes on the first-instar nymphs of Orafortis luma sp. nov. (n = 5)

The specimens were poorly cleared and a complete description was impossible, but the following features should be diagnostic. Body length 440–495 µm, maximum width 220–295 µm. Dorsal surface of abdominal segments with 4 longitudinal rows of setae; submedial setae uniformly blunt and knob-like, ca. 3 µm long, medial setae like submedial setae on anterior abdominal segments, increasing in length caudad, ca. 12 µm long on abdominal segment VII. Microtubular ducts opening at bases of the marginal setae, at least on posterior abdominal segments. Setae on ventromedial portions of posterior abdominal segments unusually robust and elongate, ca. 35 µm long.

Figures

FIGURE 2. A, Young adult females of Intecticoccus viridis Kondo sp. nov. on leaf of N. antarctica (Photo by Cristián Muñoz); B, Mature adult females of I. viridis sp. nov. on leaves of N. antarctica (Photo by P.J. Gullan); C, Alcohol-preserved adult female of Orafortis luma Hardy sp. nov. in test (sac) on twig axil of Amomyrtus luma (Photo by T. Kondo).

FIGURE 4. Adult female of Orafortis luma Hardy sp. nov. (anal ring concealed by the anal lobes and not drawn as an enlargement).