Ceroplastes bipartitus Newstead

Hodgson, Chris J. & Peronti, Ana L. B. G., 2012, 3372, Zootaxa 3372, pp. 1-265 : 65-68

Ceroplastes bipartitus Newstead

( Fig. 37; Map fig. 103)

Ceroplastes bipartitus Newstead, 1917: 25 .

Gascardia bipartita (Newstead) ; Brain, 1920b: 26; Hall, 1931: 293; De Lotto, 1965: 181, 195; Hodgson, 1969a: 22; Ben-Dov, 1993: 21.

Material examined: Lectotype ♀ (here designated): South Africa, left label: Dept. Agric. Mauritius; right label: Ceroplastes / bipartitus / Newstead / Cotype ♀♀ / RN. ( BMNH): 1/3, lectotype smallest specimen.

Paralectotype ♀♀: remaining 2 specimens on lectotype slide; plus as for lectotype ( BMNH): 2/ca8 (poor). These are considered to represent the type specimens as the only data that Newstead (1917) gave was “ South Africa, 1914 (de Charmoy); see notes below .

Also: South Africa, Limpopo Province [Northern Transvaal], Magdebaskloof, Tzaheen, Croton sylvaticus, 1955 , J.H.C. Grobler ( BMNH): 3/7 (3 fair, others poor). Also: Zimbabwe [Southern Rhodesia], Morgenster Mission, Strychnos spinosa , 2.iii.1939, W.J. Hall ( BMNH): 1/2 (fair-good); Harare [Salisbury], on Duranta sp. , May 1934, P. Falk ( BMNH, ex Dept. Agric., Harare [Salisbury], No 6393)): 1/2 (fair); Inyazura, on unknown host, 10.vi.1928, W.J. Hall ( BMNH): 1/2 (fair-good). Zambia, Nangweshi, on Croton sp. , 22.vii.1952, Dr. L.E. Codd ( BMNH, SN 4133): 3/9 (mainly fair).

Notes. 1. With regard to the label “Department of Agriculture, Mauritius ” on the lectotype specimens, it is believed (D.J. Williams, pers. comm.) that d'Emmerez de Charmoy either worked or collected in South Africa before becoming Director of the Department of Agriculture in Mauritius and that he took these specimens (and others) to Mauritius with him and then sent them to Newstead from there. Williams considers that Newstead would have written Mauritius on his slides (as he often did), referring to the sender rather than the original collecting site. 2. In the following description, the data for the type specimens are given first, followed by that from Magdebaskloof and those from Zimbabwe and Zambia in (../..) brackets, separated by a slash .

Unmounted material. "Female test. Colour, in dried specimens, very like pale dirty beeswax. In the young adults the test is broadly oval, somewhat hemispherical and divided into nine plates: 3 bilateral, 1 cephalic, 1 anal and 1 dorsal, the last named with a conspicuous dark brown or blackish, oval spot, with a central elongated patch of pure white wax; the nuclear spots to the lateral plates are smaller and generally much less conspicuous than the dorsal one. Margin over the stigmatic areas with a pair of laterally compressed and somewhat disc-shaped extensions, each extension carrying on its edge a narrow strip of opaque white wax, the tip of which sometimes reaches the dark nuclear spot of the lateral thoracic plate. In very old examples, the test has increased in thickness considerably, but this has been so much damaged in transit as to render it useless for descriptive purposes; however, one can trace the curious marginal extensions, which are somewhat like a narrow-waisted and distorted bobbin, or the toy once used in the popular game "diabolo". Average length of young adults, 3 mm; height, 1.6–2 mm.; average length of old adults 6 mm; height doubtful." "Denuded of wax, hemispherical; caudal process very long, varying in length from one-half to a little less than one-half the length of the remaining portion of the insect. Submarginal tubercles small, but generally clearly defined: 1 cephalic and 3 bilateral, the two over the stigmata slightly more pronounced than the rest." ( Newstead, 1917: 25).

Mounted material. Body of mature female probably rather roundly oval and convex, with distinct, quite deep, stigmatic clefts; dorsum with distinct lateral tubercles. Caudal process long, narrowing slightly towards apex; probably pointing posteriorly in life. Length (without caudal process) about 3.5 (2.5–3.25/2.0–2.5) mm, width across venter about 2.7 (1.88–2.3/0.9–1.9) mm; total width on slide uncertain (1.9–2.3/1.13–2.0 mm); caudal process 1.25–1.8 (1.13–1.56/1.37–1.75) mm long.

Dorsum. Derm membranous except for heavily sclerotised caudal process. Caudal process about 1.25–1.8 (1.13–1.56/1.37–1.75) mm long; width across base of flattened process 625 (575–825/1000) µm. Derm apparently with 7 distinct clear areas, dorsal area either very small or absent; each with very few or no setae. Dorsal setae each sharply spinose, about 2x longer than width of basal socket, length 7 (8–10/7–9) µm; basal socket width 4 (5/-) µm; present sparsely throughout but absent in clear areas. Dorsal pores: (i) loculate microducts of complex type, each with 2 or 3 satellite loculi, each pore about 4–6 µm widest; those with 2 satellite loculi about twice as frequent as those with 3 satellite loculi (although this variable between specimens); pores with 1 or 4 loculi not detected; abundant throughout but absent from all clear areas; wax-plate lines not detected, and (ii) simple microducts, each about 1.0–1.5 µm wide, present in clear areas. Preopercular pores present in a transverse line, each about 3.0–3.5 µm wide and roundly convex; number uncertain. Anal plates each 128 (128–145/120) µm long, width of single plate 53 (58–66/62–66) µm, each with 3 long flagellate dorsal setae plus a short apical seta; those on non-type specimens: anterior 3 each 65–70 µm long, apical seta 18–35 µm long. Anal tube quite short, lying near apex of caudal extension; Zimbabwe specimens with anal ring setae each about 190 µm long.

Margin. Marginal setae setose, each about 20 (21–25/16–20) µm long, with (6–8/8) anteriorly between eyespots, and (on each side) (2–3/2–3) between eyespots and anterior stigmatic area, (2–8/9) between stigmatic areas and (12–18/20) on either side of abdomen; each anal lobe with 2 or 3 slightly longer setae, longest about 35–60 µm long. Stigmatic clefts quite deep, each with a group of blunt, conical stigmatic setae extending in a broad, almost circular, group onto dorsum, each group slightly wider than long; anterior group with 44–46 (60–75/ 32–34) setae and posterior groups with 40–53 (53–65/28–32) setae; most setae 8–11 (8–11/8–12) µm wide at base and 11 (7–10/8) µm long but each group generally with a noticeably larger seta about 15 (13/all small) µm wide and 16 (16/all small) µm long, located towards dorsal apex of group. Eyespots each about 35 (39–44/33) µm wide.

Venter. Derm entirely membranous. Pregenital disc-pores abundant around genital opening (segment VII) and across preceding segment, with, on non-type specimens: medially: segment II 0–1, III 1–5, IV 1–10, V 4–13 and many on VI and VII, and in submedially associated with each anogenital fold: II 0 or 1, III 1–12, IV–VII many. Spiracular disc-pores present in fairly broad bands of at least 100 pores, but with very few extending medially; each band about 1.5x width of peritremes near margin, but not as wide a group of stigmatic setae. Ventral microducts showing nothing distinctive. Ventral tubular ducts rarely detected on type specimens; on non-type specimens present in a diffuse group of perhaps 1–8 medially anterior to antennae but with few associated with mediolateral lobes on abdominal segments III–VI, exact numbers uncertain; each with a filamentous inner ductule. Submarginal setae frequent, each 13–15 µm long.

Antennae each with 6 segments, segment III with a hint of pseudo-articulations; total length 300–330 (365–375/280–305) µm. Clypeolabral shield about 185 (170–200/175–180) µm long. Spiracles: width of peritremes 75–80 (83–90/58–70) µm. Legs well developed, each with a distinct tibio-tarsal articulation and sclerosis; claw denticle obscure; claw digitules both broad and shorter than tarsal digitules; dimensions of metathoracic legs (µm): coxa 145–157 (165–170/132); trochanter + femur 160–175 (182–195/160–165); tibia 120–125 (132–145/110–115); tarsus 70–77 (83–97/70–75), and claw 21–25 (26–30/21).

Discussion. Ceroplastes bipartitus is very similar to C. jos , described as new below, but differs (characterstates of C. jos in brackets): (i) ventral tubular ducts very sparse, possibly even absent on some specimens and not present medially on abdomen (tubular ducts frequent and present medially on abdomen); (ii) loculate microducts mainly with 2 satellite loculi, those with 4 satellite loculi rare or absent (mainly 3 satellite loculi, pores with 4 satellite loculi present but scarce, those with 2 satellite loculi infrequent); (iii) with generally more than 30 stigmatic setae in each cleft, and each group about as wide as long (about 25 or fewer stigmatic setae in a group and each group much wider than long); (iv) dorsal setae about 2x longer than width of basal socket and sharply pointed (subequal to or only slightly longer than width of basal socket, and bluntly pointed), and (v) claw denticle obscure at most (present). C. bipartitus is also close to C. longicauda , differing mainly in having a much shorter caudal process. Qin and Gullan (1995), in their morphological cladistic analysis of the wax scale insects, found only 1 difference in the character-states they scored for C. bipartitus and C. longicauda , and it is possible that C. longicauda is a synonym of C. bipartitus , with C. longicauda representing a more mature adult female where the sclerotisation of the caudal process has expanded more than on C. bipartitus , or that host plant or environmental effects have modified the degree of extension of the caudal process. Too little material is available to determine whether this is likely and we are treating them here as separate species.

It is possible that wax-plate lines might be present on young adult specimens as the wax test is described as being divided into 9 plates ( Newstead, 1917).

C. bipartitus is only known from the southern half of Africa ( South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe), where it is known on 6 plant families, namely Acanthaceae , Bignoniaceae , Euphorbiaceae and Rubiaceae ( Ben-Dov et al., 2011) , plus Strychnaceae and Verbenaceae .