Capulinia Signoret 1875

Hodgson, Chris, 2020, A review of neococcid scale insects (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccomorpha) based on the morphology of the adult males, Zootaxa 4765 (1), pp. 1-264 : 80

Capulinia Signoret 1875

Capulinia Signoret 1875a , 27–28. Type species: Capulinia Signoret by monotypy.

Introduction. Capulinia is a small genus of 7 species, of which 6 occur in Central and South America and the seventh is from New Zealand ( Kondo et al. 2016). This generic distribution seems unlikely and it is probable that the New Zealand species, C. orbiculata Hoy , is not congeneric with C. sallei Signoret , the type species of Capulinia , although, as part of their recent discussion on the genus, Kondo et al. (2016) retained C. orbiculata within Capulinia . Based on the current species included in this genus, the adult females occur on the stems, branches and leaves of their host plant, either inducing a gall or hidden under the bark. The adult females secrete a white wax and their eggs are protected either within a long ovisac or under a copious mass of wax ( Kondo et al. 2016). Only the adult male of C. sallei has been described and illustrated previously ( Hodgson & Miller 2010) ( Fig. 28 ). C. sallei was originally collected in Mexico on ‘Capulino’ although further details are not given. In Hodgson and Miller’s (2010) revision of South American eriococcids, they described the adult female and first-instar nymph from specimens collected in both Cuba and Mexico but the adult male from just Mexico. Hodgson and Miller did note differences between the Cuban and Mexican specimens and, as posited by Kondo et al. (2016), these differences suggest that they could represent more than one species. However, it is considered that, as the adult male described by Hodgson and Miller was from Mexican material, it is likely that they are the males of C. sallei Signoret.

Generic diagnosis based on adult male morphology of C. sallei ( Fig. 28 ) Body not attenuated and abdomen more or less parallel sided but with an elongate penial sheath; body setae probably mainly hs although hs and fs almost indistinguishable; simple and loculate pores absent. Head: quite setose; ocular sclerite without reticulations; dorsal mid-cranial ridge present and well defined; ocelli absent; genal setae present; antennae 10 segmented; flagellar segments with hs and fs; capitate setae present on apical antennal segment only; each with 4–7 capitate setae. Thorax: prosternum with prosternal setae; prescutum oval with prescutal setae; scutal setae present medially and laterally; scutellum with scutellar setae; postemesospiracular setae abundant; metasternum with few setae; metaprecoxal ridge absent; postmetaspiracular setae present; tarsi 2 segmented; claw digitules capitate, claws without a denticle. Abdomen: fs either absent or indistinguishable from hs; glandular pouches present on segment VIII; segment IX with a pair of long setae anteriorly; style quite long, broad anteriorly, narrowing quite quickly and then parallel sided to sharp apex.

Comment. The adult male of C. sallei is superficially rather similar to that of Eriogallococcus isaias but the former has: (i) 10-segmented antennae whereas E. isaias has only 5-segmented antennae and (ii) C. sallei has 2-segmented tarsi whereas E. isaias has only 1-segmented tarsi.

Figures

FIGURE 28. Capulinia sallei Signoret. Macropterous male. (Eriococcidae, Gondwanan group). Where E=hair-like setae. For abbreviations, see p. 8.