Palmaspis phoenicis (Ramachandra Rao)

Moghaddam, Masumeh & Watson, Gillian W., 2024, The Scale Insects Of Iran (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) Part 3 The Soft Scales (Coccidae) And Other Families, Zootaxa 5542 (1), pp. 1-202 : 27-29

Palmaspis phoenicis (Ramachandra Rao)

( Fig. 6 , Plate 1B , distribution map Fig. 91I )

Asterolecanium phoenicis Ramachandra Rao, 1922: 11 . Palmaspis phoenicis (Ramachandra Rao) ; Bodenheimer 1951: 328.

Field characters: Adult females live on the stems, leaves and fruits of date palms. Body of adult female oval, wider at rounded posterior end, convex dorsally; test pale greenish yellow, transparent, thin, smooth and shiny.

Microscopic diagnosis: Slide-mounted adult female body slipper-shaped. Antennae very short, each with 2 setae as long as, or slightly longer than diameter of antenna. Anal opening dorsal, circular, with margin sometimes faintly sclerotized.

Dorsum. Marginal 8-shaped pores present in a single row, terminating about three times length of apical setae from their bases. Tubular ducts present in scattered groups. Dorsal 8-shaped pores present, often numbering 20–25; with somewhat tubular pores present in submarginal area, 1 or 2 sometimes in median area anterior to level of mouthparts. Disc-pores fairly numerous.

Venter. Marginal quinquelocular disc-pores present in a single row on inner ventral edge of marginal 8-shaped pore row. Spiracular bar expanded at inner end; spiracular furrow between each spiracle and margin of body containing a group of about 12 quinquelocular disc-pores.

Distribution: Palmaspis phoenicis is known from eight countries in the Afrotropical and Palaearctic regions ( García Morales et al. 2016); in Iran, it has been recorded from Bushehr, Esfahan, Fars, Hormozgan, Khorasan -e Jounobi, Sistan & Balouchestan and Yazd provinces ( Moghaddam 2013).

Host-plants: The species has been recorded only on date palms, Phoenix dactylifera ( Arecaceae ).

Economic importance: None in Iran.

Natural enemies: None recorded in Iran.

Figures

PLATE 1. Asterolecaniidae: A, Asterodiaspis quercicola (Bouché); B, Palmaspis phoenicis (Ramachandra Rao); Cerococcidae: C, Antecerococcus longipilosus (Archangelskaya); Coccidae: D, Acantholecanium haloxyloni (Hall); E, Acanthopulvinaria orientalis (Nasonov); F, Anapulvinaria pistaciae (Bodenheimer); G, Bodenheimera rachelae (Bodenheimer); H, Ceroplastes floridensis Comstock.

FIGURE 6. Adult female of Palmaspis phoenicis (Ramachandra Rao), developed from Russell (1941) page 287, fig. 52.

FIGURE 91. Distribution maps of scale insect species in Iran covered in this work. A, Kermes quercus (Linnaeus); B, Kermes spatulatus Balachowsky; C, Neoacanthococcus pamiricus (Bazarov); D, Neoacanthococcus tamaricicola Borchsenius; E, Nidularia balachowskii Bodenheimer; F, Orthezia urticae (Linnaeus); G, Ortheziola marottai Kaydan & Szita; H, Palaeolecanium bituberculatum (Signoret); I, Palmaspis phoenicis (Ramachandra Rao); J, Parthenolecanium corni (Bouché); K, Parthenolecanium persicae (Fabricius); L, Phoenicococcus marlatti Cockerell.