Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 5637 No. 3: 22 May 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-05-22
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5637.3.6
Page range: 579-593
Abstract views: 74
PDF downloaded: 6

Taxonomic review of three species of the genus Pseudococcus Westwood, 1840 (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Pseudococcidae) found in Okinawa Island, Japan, with description of a new species

Faculty of Agriculture; Ehime University; Tarumi 3-5-7; Matsuyama; Ehime 790-8566; Japan; The Kyushu University Museum; Hakozaki 6-10-1; Higashi-ku; Fukuoka; 812-8581; Japan
Evolution; Cell Biology & Symbiosis Unit; Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University; 1919-1 Tancha; Onna- son; Kunigami-gun; Okinawa; 904-0495; Japan
Laboratory; Faculty of Agriculture; Kyushu University; Motooka 744; Fukuoka; 819-0395; Japan
Hemiptera Sternorrhyncha Mealybug new country records Ryukyu Islands

Abstract

Three mealybug species belonging to the genus Pseudococcus Westwood, 1840 (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Pseudococcidae), namely P. cryptus Hempel, 1918, P. odermatti Miller & Williams, 1997 and P. okinawaensis Tanaka & Choi sp. nov., are recorded from Okinawa Island, Japan for the first time. Each species is described based on the morphological characteristics of the adult female. Specimens of P. cryptus from Okinawa Island differ slightly from those in other published descriptions of the species; the difference is regarded as intraspecific morphological variation. Molecular phylogenetic analysis indicates that P. odermatti is closely related to P. comstocki (Kuwana, 1902). Further detailed morphological and molecular studies are needed to define the species status of P. odermatti, although its taxonomic position is retained in the present study. Pseudococcus okinawaensis Tanaka & Choi sp. nov. is similar to P. gilbertensis Beardsley, 1966 and P. ogasawarensis Kawai, 1973, but differs from them in having many more discoidal pores associated with the dorsal oral rim and oral collar tubular ducts. Molecular phylogenetic analyses were used to investigate the phylogenetic placement of the three species. A key to the species of Pseudococcus Westwood, 1840, found on Okinawa Island is provided.

 

References

  1. Beardsley Jr., J.W. (1966) Insects of Micronesia. Homoptera: Coccoidea. Insects of Micronesia, 6, 377–562.
  2. Bodenheimer, F.S. (1938) Comstock’s mealybug Pseudococcus comstocki (Kuwana): a new pest of the citrus groves of Palestine. Hadar, 11 (7), 201–207.
  3. Boisduval, J.B.A. (1867) Essai sur l’entomologie horticole. Donnaud, Paris, 648 pp.
  4. Choi, J. & Lee, S. (2022) Higher classification of mealybugs (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) inferred from molecular phylogeny and their endosymbionts. Systematic Entomology, 47 (2), 354–370. https://doi.org/10.1111/syen.12534
  5. Compere, H. (1939) Mealybugs and their insect enemies in South America. University of California Publications in Entomology, 7 (4), 57–73.
  6. Costa Lima, A.M. da (1939) Espécies de Pseudococcus observadas do Brasil. (Homoptera: Coccoidea-Pseudococcidae). Boletim Biologico, 4, 1–10.
  7. Curtis, J. (1843) The black turtle-scale. Coccus testudo (Curtis). Gardeners’ Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette, 26, 443–444.
  8. Das, S. & Ghose, S.K. (1996) Taxonomy and biology of a new orange mealybug, Pseudococcus mandarinus n. sp. (Homoptera, Pseudococcidae). Proceedings of the Zoological Society, Calcutta, 49 (1), 17–20.
  9. Ferris, G.F. (1950) Atlas of the Scale Insects of North America. Series 5. The Pseudococcidae. Part I. Stanford University Press, Palo Alto, California, 278 pp.
  10. García Morales, M., Denno, B.D, Miller, D.R., Miller, G.L., Ben-Dov, Y. & Hardy, N.B. (2016) ScaleNet: a literature-based model of scale insect biology and systematics. Database. Available from: http://scalenet.info (accessed 10 December 2023) https://doi.org/10.1093/database/bav118
  11. Green, E.E. (1922) The Coccidae of Ceylon. Part V. Dulau & Co., London, 128 pp. [pp. 345–472]
  12. Hambleton, E.J. (1935) Notas sobre Pseudococcinae de importáncia economica no Brasil com a descripçao de quatro especies novas. Archivos do Instituto Biologico. São Paulo, 6, 105–120.
  13. Hayward, K.J. (1941) Insectos de importancia económica en la región de Concordia (entre ríos). Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina, 11, 68–109.
  14. Hempel, A. (1918) Descripção de sete novas espécies de coccidas. Revista do Museu Paulista. São Paulo, 10, 193–208.
  15. Hoang, D.T., Chernomor, O., Haeseler, A., Minh, B.Q. & Vinh, L.S. (2018) UFBoot2: improving the ultrafast bootstrap approximation. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 35, 518–522. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msx281
  16. IUCN (2000) Conservation of Dugong (Dugong dugon), Okinawa Woodpecker (Sapheopipo noguchii) and Okinawa Rail (Gallirallus okinawae) in and around the Okinawa Island. The World Conservation Congress at its 2nd Session in Amman, Jordan, 4–11 October 2000. [unknown pagination]
  17. Kalyaanamoorthy, S., Minh, B.Q., Wong, T.K.F., von Haeseler, A. & Jermiin, L.S. (2017) ModelFinder: Fast model selection for accurate phylogenetic estimates. Nature Methods, 14, 587–589. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.4285
  18. Kawai, S. (1973) Some mealybugs from the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae). Kontyû, 41, 312–325.
  19. Kawai, S. (1980) Scale Insects of Japan in Colors. Zenkoku Nôson Kyôiku Kyôkai, Tokyo, 455 pp. [in Japanese]
  20. Kinjo, M., Nakasone, F., Higa, Y., Nagamine, M., Kawai, S. & Kondo, T. (1996) Scale insects on mango in Okinawa Prefecture. Proceedings of the Association for Plant Protection of Kyushu, 42, 125–127. [in Japanese]
  21. Klein, H.Z. & Perzelan, J. (1940) A contribution to the study of Pseudococcus comstocki in Palestine. Hadar, 13, 107–110.
  22. Kuwana, S.I. (1902) Coccidae (scale insects) of Japan. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, 3, 43–98.
  23. Laing, F. (1929) Descriptions of new, and some notes on old species of Coccidae. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 10, 4 (23), 465–501. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222932908673084
  24. Lepage, H.S. (1938) Catálogo dos coccídeos do Brasil. Revista do Museu Paulista. São Paulo, 23, 327–491.
  25. Linnaeus, C. (1767) Insecta. Hemiptera. Coccus. Systema naturae. Laurentii Salvii, Holmiae, 795 pp. [pp. 533–1327]
  26. Lit, I.L. (1992) A new genus and ten new species of Philippine mealybugs (Pseudococcidae, Coccoidea, Hemiptera). Philippine Entomologist, 8, 1158–1181.
  27. Miller, D.R. & Williams, D.J. (1997) A new species of mealybug in the genus Pseudococcus (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae) of quarantine importance. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 99, 305–311.
  28. Nguyen, L.T., Schmidt, H.A., von Haeseler, A. & Minh, B.Q. (2015) IQ-TREE: a fast and effective stochastic algorithm for estimating maximum-likelihood phylogenies. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 32 (1), 268–274. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msu300
  29. Olson, D.M. & Dinerstein, E. (1998) The global 200: a representation approach to conserving the earth’s most biologically valuable ecoregions. Conservation Biology, 12, 502–515. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1739.1998.012003502.x
  30. Rambaut, A. (2009) FigTree. Version 1.4.4. Institute of Evolutionary Biology University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh. [software]
  31. Signoret, V. (1875) Essai sur les cochenilles ou gallinsectes (Homoptères – Coccides), 15e partie. Annales de la Société entomologique de France, Série 5, 5, 305–352.
  32. Signoret, V. (1882) Oudablis n. gen. Annales de la Société entomolgique de France, Bulletin Entomologique (série 6), 1881–1, clvii.
  33. Silva d’Araujo, A.G., Gonçalves, C.R., Galvão, D.M. & Goncalves, D.M. (1968) Fourth catalog of insects that live in Brazil. Parte II. Insects, hosts and natural enemies. Vol. 1. Ministerio da Cultura Rio de Janeiro, 622 pp.
  34. Steenwyk, J.L., Buida III, T.J., Li, Y., Shen, X.X. & Rokas, A. (2020) ClipKIT: a multiple sequence alignment trimming software for accurate phylogenomic inference. PLoS Biology, 18 (12), e3001007. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001007
  35. Tanaka, H. & Kamitani, S. (2021) Two new species of Coccomorpha (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha) collected from Japanese silver grass, Miscanthus sinensis (Poaceae) in Okinawa Island, Japan. Zootaxa, 4941 (4), 569–579. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4941.4.6
  36. Tanaka, H. & Uesato, T. (2012) New records of some potential pest mealybugs (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae) in Japan. Applied Entomology and Zoology. Tokyo, 47, 413–419. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13355-012-0134-6
  37. Tanaka, H., Suetsugu, K. & Kamitani, S. (2021) A parasitic insect on a parasitic plant: a new species of the genus Formicoccus Takahashi (Hemiptera, Coccomorpha, Pseudococcidae) from Ishigaki Island, Japan. ZooKeys, 1060, 171–182. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1060.71652
  38. Tanaka, H., Ohnishi, H., Tatsuta, H. & Tsuji, K. (2011) An analysis of mutualistic interactions between exotic ants and honeydew producers in the Yanbaru district of Okinawa Island, Japan. Ecological Research, 26 (4), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-011-0851-2
  39. Tanaka, H., Sasaki, D., Choi, J., Husnik, F. & Kamitani, S. (2022) Two new species of mealybugs (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Pseudococcidae) from Japan. Zootaxa, 5168 (3), 306–318. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5168.3.3
  40. Targioni Tozzetti, A. (1867) Studii sulle Cocciniglie. Memorie della Società Italiana di Scienze Naturali. Milano, 3 (3), 1–87.
  41. Tokihiro, G. (2004) [Comparison of Pseudococcus sp. (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae) that occurred on Citrus in Japan and P. odermatti that was intercepted at plant quarantine in Japan.] Research Bulletin of the Plant Protection Service Japan, 40, 99–101. [in Japanese]
  42. Westwood, J.O. (1840) An introduction to the modern classification of insects; founded on the natural habits and corresponding organization of different families. Vol. II. Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Longmans, London, 587 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.12455
  43. Williams, D.J. (1963) Some taxonomic notes on the Coccoidea (Homoptera). The Entomologist, 96, 100–101.
  44. Williams, D.J. (1970) The mealybugs (Homoptera, Coccoidea, Pseudococcidae) of sugar-cane, rice and sorghum. Bulletin of Entomological Research, 60, 109–188. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007485300034209
  45. Williams, D.J. (2004) Mealybugs of southern Asia. The Natural History Museum. Southdene SDN. BHD., Kuala Lumpur, 896 pp.

How to Cite

Tanaka, H., Choi, J. & Kamitani, S. (2025) Taxonomic review of three species of the genus Pseudococcus Westwood, 1840 (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Pseudococcidae) found in Okinawa Island, Japan, with description of a new species. Zootaxa, 5637 (3), 579–593. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5637.3.6