Ceroplastes eugeniae Hall

Hodgson, Chris J. & Peronti, Ana L. B. G., 2012, 3372, Zootaxa 3372, pp. 1-265 : 112-116

Ceroplastes eugeniae Hall

( Figs 55, 56; Map fig. 104; Table 3)

Ceroplastes rusci var. eugeniae Hall, 1931: 298 .

Ceroplastes eugeniae Hall ; Hodgson, 1969a: 4; Matile-Ferrero, 1978: 42; Qin & Gullan, 1995: 301.

Material examined: Lectotype (here designated): Zimbabwe [Southern Rhodesia]: scratched onto glass slide: top label: Ceroplastes / rusci var. / eugeniae Hall / Eugenia / owariensis / Mazoe / WJH 3/11/27. Bottom label:

Type / 21.iii.30 / W.J. Hall. ( BMNH): 1/4 (good, lectotype arrowed in top right-hand corner; note that “ holotype ” had been stamped on the slide envelope – see comment on “type” specimens in Materials and methods) .

Paralectotype ♀: remaining specimens on lectotype slide plus as for lectotype ( BMNH): 2/6 (good) + 2/2 (poor) .

Also: Mozambique (as Portuguese East Africa), Chimanimani Mountains, on Syzygium guineense , 6.vii.1967, C.J. Hodgson ( BMNH): 1/1 (good). Zambia, Lusaka, on guava, 13.xii.1962, no coll. ( BMNH): 1/3 (fair; as C. rusci ). Zimbabwe [Southern Rhodesia], Hunter's Road, Que Que, Viscum subcylindricum , 17.vii.1967, C.J. Hodgson ( BMNH): 1/1 (fair-good); Hunter’s Road, on Loranthus quequensis , 17.vii.1967, C.J. Hodgson ( BMNH): 1/1 (good); Harare [Salisbury], on Syzygium cordatum , 8.vi.1973, G.L. Prinsloo ( SANC #5023): 1/1 (fair)

Also: South Africa, Eastern Cape Province, Port Elizabeth, on Tecomaria capensis , -. ix.1955, J.S. Taylor ( BMNH): 2/3 (fair to good); Gauteng Province, Bon Accord Dam, on Pappea capensis var. radlkoferi , 19.ix.1954, E.E.C. Bedford ( BMNH, CIE 3243a/14009): 1/2 (poor).

Note. Description made mainly from type series. Some data for some of the other material is given in Table 3 and in (..) brackets below.

Unmounted material. "Test of the adult female highly convex; the dome with a shallow median depression with a very small elongate boss, longitudinally orientated, pushed anteriorly by the cone of wax behind it. Plates only obscurely marked on the adult but more clearly on the young specimens. Diameter of the wax of the adult female up to 8 mm. With the wax removed, the adult female is highly convex, with 3 very small lateral processes, plus 1 cephalic and another dorsal; the caudal process is small and directed upwards at an angle of about forty-five degrees." ( Hodgson, 1969a: 4).

Mounted material. Body probably rather roundly oval and convex, with shallow stigmatic clefts; dorsum with distinct lateral tubercles. Caudal process short. Body length 2.5–3.5 mm, total width 1.5–2.75 mm.

Dorsum. Derm membranous except for heavily sclerotised caudal process, becoming more sclerotised on older individuals; caudal process 0.5–0.85 mm long, 0.54–0.83 mm wide. Derm apparently with 8 clear areas, anterior and medio-dorsal areas with dorsal setae. Dorsal setae each very blunt, often appearing cylindrical, each subequal to or slightly longer than width of basal socket, each seta 4–5 µm long and socket 4–5 µm wide; present sparsely throughout but absent in clear areas. Dorsal pores: (i) loculate microducts of rusci-type abundant, each about 5–7 µm widest; pores with 2 or 3 satellite loculi much less frequent and most abundant in wax-plate lines but occasional elsewhere; pores abundant throughout but absent from clear areas; and (ii) simple microducts present sparsely in all clear areas but very scarce or absent elsewhere. Preopercular pores present in a single line of 4–10. Anal plates each 150–165 µm long, width of both plates 145–165 µm, each with 3 (possibly sometimes 4) strong dorsal setae, each perhaps 65–75 µm long plus a shorter subapical seta. Anal tube short, about as long as anal plates; anal ring setae each about 200 µm long.

Margin. Marginal setae strongly setose; each about 18–22 µm long; with 15–18 (11–20) anteriorly between eyespots, and (on each side) 5–8 (5–9) between eyespots and anterior stigmatic seta, + 0–2 among stigmatic setae; 4–8 between stigmatic setae + 1 or 2 among stigmatic setae both anteriorly and posteriorly, and perhaps 17–19 along either side of abdomen + 1 or 2 anteriorly amongst stigmatic setae; each anal lobe with 3 or 4 long setae, longest about 75–85 µm long. Stigmatic clefts shallow, each with an elongate group of conical stigmatic setae, each seta about as long as wide, with convex sides; each group mainly 3 or 4 setae deep; groups occasionally almost meeting medially between stigmatic areas laterally, and extending an equal distance on each side of cleft; each cleft with 18–25 (18–34) marginal and 12–23 (8–27) non-marginal stigmatic setae (totals per cleft 31–53) (i.e., non-marginal setae extend some distance out of each cleft and are about 2/3rds as abundant as marginal stigmatic setae); smallest spinose seta 6 µm long and 5 µm wide, but generally with 1 in centre of each group larger, each about 17 µm long and 13 µm wide. Eyespots each about 38–40 µm wide.

Venter. Derm entirely membranous. Pregenital disc-pores abundant around genital opening (segment VII) and across preceding segment; also with about 2 medially + a group associated with anogential fold mediolaterally on V; generally absent on segments IV–II and metathorax but occasionally 1 pore present on 1 or more segments. Spiracular disc-pores present in fairly broad bands of about 100–120 pores, each band often widening submarginally; those near each cleft more sclerotised; with none extending medially past peritreme. Ventral microducts showing nothing distinctive. Ventral tubular ducts present both anteriorly and posteriorly, with about 3–10 in cephalic region and 1 or 2 mediolaterally associated with anogenital fold in abdominal segments V and/or VI; each with a long narrow inner ductule, often with a terminal gland. Submarginal setae frequent, each 20–25 µm long.

Antennae each with 6 segments, segment III with 2 or 3 pseudo-articulations; total length 275–350 µm. Clypeolabral shield about 185 µm long. Spiracles: width of peritremes 68–92 µm. Legs well developed, each with a distinct tibio-tarsal articulation and sclerosis; each claw sometimes with a hint of a denticle; claw digitules both broad and shorter than tarsal digitules; dimensions of metathoracic legs (µm): coxa 145–160; trochanter + femur 175–200; tibia 105–130; tarsus 70–83, and claw 18–25.

Discussion. As pointed out by Hodgson (1969a), C. eugeniae is very close to C. rusci and C. eucleae but the latter 2 species differ from C. eugeniae in having generally fewer stigmatic setae in each cleft, particularly nonmarginal stigmatic setae. In addition, the specimens of C. rusci from north Africa and the Mediterranean have a distinct denticle on each claw, absent on most material from further south.

It is possible that C. castelbrancoi is also a synonym of C. eugeniae .

In this study, what is believed to be C. eugeniae has only been seen from Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe, on Eugenia owariensis and Syzygium guineense and S. cordatum (Myrtaceae) , Loranthus quequensis (Loranthaceae) , Tecomaria capensis (Bignoniaceae) , Viscum subcylindricum (Viscaceae) , and Pappea capensis var. radlkoferi (Sapindaceae) .

Cryptic or sibling species. In addition to the material studied above, there is a single slide from Malawi ( Malawi, Nyika Plateau, Ochna puberula , 7.vii.1966, C.J. Hodgson (BMNH): 1/1 (fair, originally identified as C. spicatus ) which is very close to C. eugeniae in that it has a long line of non-marginal stigmatic setae and the stigmatic setae in each cleft are a long way apart but it has rather few stigmatic setae in total and they are only 2 deep in each cleft. In addition, we also saw the following: Algeria, Sahara Central, Dider, Tassili N’Ajjero, on Asclepiadaceae , -. iv.1949, A.S. Balachowsky (MNHN #68): 1/1 (poor). Comoros, Anjouan [Nzwani], Niouma- Kélé, on Cananga odorata, 1911 , Fleutiaux (MNHN #7489): 2/2 (good-fair). São Tomé [San Thomé], Monte Café, on coconut, -. iv.1990, A. Lourenço (MNHN #11502): 5/6 (fair-poor, identified a C.? japonicus ). Somalia [as Italian Somaliland], on Cocos nucifera , -. ii.1926, G. paoli (BMNH): 1/1 (poor, as C. actiniformis ). Tanzania [Tanganyika Terr.], Bukoba, wild bush, date? A.N. Ritchie (BMNH): 2/3 young adff (fair-poor, as C. actiniformis ). Uganda, Jinja, on exotic tree, 20.ii.1921, H. Hargreaves (BMNH): 1/ca8 or 9 (fair-good, identified as C. floridensis ). Democratic Republic of the Congo (as Belgian Congo), Dimonika, rte de Voula Troua, “ind. do carton fourmis”, 14.xi.1975, D. Matile (MNHN #6400): 1/1 (good); Rutshuru, on Annona muricata , 25.ii.1938, Ghesquière #4219 (MNHN, TERV): 2/5 (good-fair). These specimens appeared to be similar to C. eugeniae but, as the collection sites are all a long way from southern Africa, it is here considered that they could represent cryptic or sibling species.

Where: ant. hd set = number of marginal setae anteriorly between eyespots; post hd set = number of marginal setae between each eyespot and anterior stigmatic area; ant marg ss = number of marginal stigmatic setae in anterior cleft; ant. non-m. ss = number of non-marginal stigmatic setae in anterior cleft; lat.m set = number of marginal setae between clefts on each side; post m. ss = number of marginal stigmatic setae in each posterior cleft; post non-m. ss = number of non-marginal stigmatic setae in each posterior cleft; depth = number of rows of stigmatic setae in each cleft; ant mldp = most anterior segment on which multilocular disc-pores found; hd tub. ducts = number of ventral tubular ducts in cephalic region; and dent = presence of a claw denticle (where x = absent; h = hint). And where - = data not taken.

Material studied: Type: Zimbabwe ( Southern Rhodesia), Mazoe, Eugenia owariensis , 3.xi.1927, W.J. Hall ( BMNH). Mozambique, Chimanimani Mountains, on Syzygium guineense , 6.vii.1967, C.J. Hodgson ( BMNH). Zambia, Lusaka, on guava, 13.xii.1962, no coll. ( BMNH). Zimbabwe, Hunter's Road, Que Que, Viscum subcylindricum , 17.vii.1967, C.J. Hodgson ( BMNH); as previous, on Loranthus quequensis, (BMNH) ; Salisbury (Harari), on Syzygium cordatum , 8.vi.1973, G.L. Prinsloo ( SANC #5023). South Africa, Port Elizabeth, on Tecomaria capensis , -. ix.1955, J.S. Taylor ( BMNH); Bon Accord Dam, on Pappea capensis var. radlkoferi , 19.ix.1954, E.E.C. Bedford ( BMNH).

Cryptic sibling species: São Tomé, Monte Café , on coconut, -. iv.1990, A. Lourenço ( MNHN #11502 ) . Uganda, Jinja, on exotic tree, 20.ii.1921, H. Hargreaves ( BMNH) .