Corresponding author: Jinian Feng (
Academic editor: Roger Blackman
Cao T, Zhang N, Feng J (2019) The genus
Soft scale insects (
Prior to this study, the genus
Scale insect samples were collected from leaves and twigs of
Ventral tubular ducts of
All specimens were deposited in the
The adult females of
The species epithet
Yunnan Province (China).
1 | Each stigmatic cleft containing 3 stigmatic spines |
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– | Each stigmatic cleft containing 4–7 stigmatic spines |
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2 | One type of ventral tubular duct (VTD) present |
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– | More than one type of VTD present |
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3 | Legs with tibio-tarsal articulation and articulatory sclerosis |
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– | Legs with tibio-tarsal articulation but without articulatory sclerosis |
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4 | Mature adults red; spiracle with a sclerotic plate; VTDs with enlarged inner ductules; marginal setae mostly sharp, setose and pointed |
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– | Mature adults dark brown to black; spiracle without a sclerotic plate; VTDs with narrow inner ductules; marginal setae mostly strongly frayed, fimbriate and branched |
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5 | VTDs of three or four types present; legs with tibio-tarsal articulation and articulatory sclerosis; discal setae sharp and pointed |
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– | VTDs of two types present (types I and III); legs with tibio-tarsal articulation but without articulatory sclerosis; discal setae frayed and fimbriate |
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6 | VTDs present with enlarged inner ductules; VTDs with a filament-like inner ductule (type III) present in submarginal band; multilocular disc-pores present laterad to each metacoxa and mesocoxa |
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– | No VTDs with enlarged inner ductules; VTDs with a filament-like inner ductule (type III) present at posterior end near vulvar area; multilocular disc-pores absent from near each mesocoxa |
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7 | VTDs of three types present (types II, III and IV); 3 pairs of setae on ano-genital fold |
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– | VTDs of four types present (types I to IV); 4 or 5 pairs of setae on ano-genital fold |
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Morphological features that can be used to separate
Morphological features |
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Type I VTDs | Present submarginally in a broad band around body, mediolaterally on posterior abdominal segments | Absent |
Type II VTDs | Present submarginally and mediolaterally on posterior abdominal segments, sparse, few and discrete between 2 spiracular pore bands and head | Present on inner submarginal area around body and medial thorax ( |
Type III VTDs | Present submarginally and inner submarginally on posterior abdominal segments, rarely present on submarginal area of head | Present on outer submarginal area around body ( |
Type IV VTDs | Absent | Present on medial submarginal area around body ( |
Distribution of VTDs | Distributed irregularly, type I and type II ventral tubular ducts mixed mediolaterally on posterior abdominal segments, and in a broad band around body, type III ducts mixed with them submarginally on posterior abdominal segments | Distributed regularly ( |
Dorsal setae | Thick and long, 20.1–28.9 μm long including basal socket, 14.2–21.0 μm long without a basal socket | Rather short, 6.0–9.0 μm long ( |
Morphological features that can be used to separate
Morphological features |
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Type I VTDs | Present submarginally in a broad band around body, mediolaterally on posterior abdominal segments | Only present on submarginal area ( |
Type II VTDs | Present submarginally and mediolaterally on posterior abdominal segments, sparse and discrete between two spiracular pore bands and on the top of anterior head | Absent |
Type III VTDs | Present on submarginal posterior abdominal segments, rarely present on outer submarginal area of head | Only present mediolaterally on posterior abdominal segments ( |
Anal plates | Posterior margin much longer than anterior margin | Length of posterior margin almost equal to or slightly longer than anterior margin ( |
Marginal setae | 38–44 setae between anterior stigmatic clefts on head; mostly fimbriate | 15–30 setae between anterior stigmatic clefts on head; mostly sharp ( |
The new species is at present only known from Kunming, Yunnan Province. Further studies should be conducted to explore the distribution of this new species and other
We are grateful to Prof. William H. Reissig from Cornell University (New York, USA) for helpful suggestions and comments on the manuscript and proof-reading it before submission. We also thank him for language support of the manuscript. This study is supported by the National Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31772502).