Aiceoninae

Martin, Jon H. & Lau, Clive S. K., 2011, The Hemiptera-Sternorrhyncha (Insecta) of Hong Kong, China-an annotated inventory citing voucher specimens and published records, Zootaxa 2847, pp. 1-122 : 19-20

Aiceoninae

Aiceona actinodaphnis Takahashi (1921)

Described from Taiwan but three of Takahashi’s slides in TARI comprise specimens from Litsea “monoptera” [? monopetala ] in HK in March 1940 (Shu-Pei Chen, pers. comm.), referred to by Takahashi (1941c).

Aiceona robustiseta Ghosh, M.R. & Raychaudhuri, 1973

A sample of aphids from Machilus sp. from Tsuen Wan (NT) was submitted to BMNH for determination in 2005, and this comprised only alatoid nymphs that were only determined as a species of Aiceona . In November 2009 a large sample of aphids from Machilus chekiangensis at Tai Tam Country Park (coll. Lau), and also sent to BMNH, were found to match the earlier sample of nymphs. This species is characterised by having apterae almost entirely pale but for the hind tibiae which are evenly brownish to black; alatae have wing membranes that are not pigmented as they are in many other Aiceona species , combined with the only dorsal pigmentation on abdominal segments IV–VIII being the siphuncular sclerites.

The HK material appears to be conspecific with material in BMNH from Eurya nitida in Thailand and from Machilus bombycina in India (Assam), provisionally determined as Aiceona robustiseta . This species appears to have the potential to cause considerable damage, with the Assam sample noted to have been causing defoliation of the host, and the 2009 HK sample also a very heavy infestation.

Aiceona titabarensis (Raychaudhuri & Ghosh, A.K., 1964)

This aphid is common in HK, with several samples in BMNH and PPRD from Litsea monopetala , L. rotundifolia and Michelia alba . Lee & Winney (1981) also list this species from HK, under its junior synonym A. litseae Basu & Hille Ris Lambers (1968) . It may eventually prove that the HK records of A. actinodaphnis and A. titabarensis —see host plant quoted for A. actinodaphnis , above—in fact concern only a single species, but examination of type material will be required to test this possibility.