Dysmicoccus sp. nr. texensis

Family

Pseudococcidae

Field characters

We have been unable to find a description of the field characteristics of this species in the literature. Based on characteristics of slide-mounted adult female: with body elongate oval; ovisac ventral or absent; 17 pairs of thin wax filaments around perimeter of body; body covered by white mealy secretion. Present on roots, stems, and leaves of host.

Validation characters

Head with 6 or fewer narrow oral-collar tubular ducts between antennae; ventral multilocular pores usually confined to posterior 3 abdominal segments; normally with discoidal pores near eye; without elongate setae on dorsum of segment VIII; cerarii with filamentous auxiliary setae; 17 pairs of cerarii; with 2 conical setae in each abdominal cerarius; without oral-rim tubular ducts.

Comparison

There has been considerable confusion about the identity of this species. Although Williams and Granara de Willink (1992) used a broad concept of the species, it is increasingly evident that true Dysmicoccus texensis (senior synonym of D. bispinosus Beardsley) is confined to acacia in Mexico and that most material determined as D. bispinosus or D. texensis is one or more different species. The most reliable character distinguishing D. texensis from Dysmicoccus sp. nr. texensis seems to be the length of the hind tibia (for D. texensis 180-190µ and for D. sp. nr. texensis 205-240µ) and the hind tibia length/ hind tibia greatest width (for D. texensis 2.0-2.1 and for D. sp. nr. texensis 2.5-3.5). Other characters that sometimes are diagnostic are: hind femur length/ greatest hind femur width (for D. texensis 2.0-2.1 and for D. sp. nr. texensis 2.1-3.5); D. texensis lacks ventral multiloculars on abdominal segment V, whereas D. sp. nr. texensis often has at least 1 pore on this segment. Please note that for many years this species was labeled as D. sp. nr. bispinosus, but when D. bispinosus was discovered to be a junior synonym of D. texensis it was determined as D. sp. nr. texensis to be consistent with the correct name of the species that it is similar to.

U.S. quarantine notes

This species was intercepted 33 times on a variety of hosts at U. S. ports-of-entry between 1995 and 2012, with specimens originating from Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Hawaii, Jamaica and Peru. It is commonly taken in quarantine on different tropical plants, especially banana, from Central and South America. Several species of Dysmicoccus other than D. boninsis (Kuwana), D. brevipes (Cockerell), D. grassii (Leonardi), D. lepelleyi (Betrem), D.mackenziei Beardsley, D. neobrevipes Beardsley, D. orchidum Williams, D. sylvarum Williams & Granara de Willink, D. wistariae Green and Dysmicoccus sp. nr. texensis have been taken in quarantine including: D. amnicola Williams & Watson (The Philippines, on Pandanus); D. finitimus Williams (Taiwan, on Cocos); D. hambletoni Williams and Granara de Willink (Ecuador, on Xanthosoma); D. hypogaeus Williams (Australia, on Chamelauciumon Inga Williams (The Philippines, on Lansium); D. probrevipes (Morrison)(Central and South America, on Coffea, Cordia); D. queenslandianus Williams (Australia, on Allocasuarina); and D. viatorius Williams (The Philippines, on Lansium, Nephelium).

Important references

WilliaGr1992 (Figure 45 in WilliaGr1992 may be Dysmicoccus sp. near bispinosus; Figure 44 is Dysmicoccus texensis).