Neomargarodes Green, 1914

Zheng, Xinyi & Wu, San’An, 2024, A review of the Margarodidae sensu stricto (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) in China, with descriptions of three new species, Zootaxa 5506 (4), pp. 451-500 : 453-455

Genus Neomargarodes Green, 1914

Neomargarodes Green, 1914: 263 , accepted valid name.

Margarodiella Jakubski, 1965: 81 , nomen nudum.

Type species: Neomargarodes erythrocephala Green, 1914 .

Generic diagnosis

Adult female: In life, body broadly oval, hairy and yellowish white. Foreleg fossorial and well developed, middle and hind legs small; living underground. Slide-mounted specimens with derm membranous, body covered by hair-like setae. Antennae stout and more-or-less conical, each 6 segmented; scape broadest and membranous, remaining segments sclerotized; pedicel with a group of sensilla; most segments each with long hair-like setae and sensory setae. Eyespots and mouthparts absent. Thoracic spiracles developed, each with apodeme and a group of perispiracular sensilla laterad to peritreme; abdominal spiracles numbering 8 pairs; thoracic and abdominal spiracular atria each containing simple pores and multilocular disc-pores. Foreleg fossorial, with short coxa, trochanter with campaniform sensilla on each lateroventral face; femur strongly developed, with a group of long hair-like setae ventrally and many small setae laterally; tibia + tarsus + claw fused together, short and sclerotized, with campaniform sensilla dorsally; strongly sclerotized claw with different shapes of protrusions. Middle and hind legs small, each similar in structure to foreleg but with tibia separated from tarsus. Anal tube with a pair of sclerotized bars. Vulva situated on venter of last segment, surrounded by wrinkles. Abdomen with fold structures on both surfaces; each segment with hair-like setae and multilocular disc-pores in transverse segmental bands; with disc-pores becoming more numerous posteriorly, each loculus of posterior pores with indented outer margin.

Comments: Adult female Neomargarodes can be distinguished from those of other genera of hypogeal margarodids by having the following major characters (contrasting character states in Margarodes and/or Porphyrophora are given in parenthesis): (i) abdominal spiracles numbering 8 pairs (no more than 7 pairs); (ii) thoracic and abdominal spiracles with multilocular disc-pores and simple pores in atria (only thoracic spiracles contain atrial pores in Porphyrophora ); (iii) foreleg claw base with a large prominent heel (foreleg claw base without a large prominent heel, either with prominences or simple); (iv) antennae 6 segmented, setose and more-or-less conical (with 7‒18 segments); (v) spines absent (present in Margarodes ); (vi) eyespots absent (present in Porphyrophora ); and (vii) derm of abdomen folded and sometimes sclerotized (abdominal derm not folded or sclerotised).

In China, four species of Neomargarodes have been recorded, mostly inhabiting the northern regions: Nei Monggol Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Hebei, Henan, Shandong and Shaanxi provinces; but Neomargarodes niger (Green) is recorded from southern region, Yunnan Province, and its accurate identification is questionable. Host plants of Neomargarodes species belong to the families Amaranthaceae , Araceae , Asteraceae , Cannabaceae , Cucurbitaceae , Cyperaceae , Dioscoreaceae , Euphorbiaceae , Fabaceae , Malvaceae , Poaceae , Rosaceae and Zygophyllaceae . Neomargarodes cucurbitae Tang & Hao is a pest of hamimelon ( Cucumis melo ) and watermelon ( Citrullus lanatus ), and Neomargarodes gossypii Yang poses a threat to peanuts ( Arachis hypogaea ).